Dark Chocolate Raspberry Pavlova

An elegant yet simple to make dessert that is naturally gluten-free, this Dark Chocolate Raspberry Pavlova is sure to impress!

This is my new favorite dessert. Hands down. I honestly don’t know what rock I’ve been living under for the past few decades, because it’s taken me until now to discover this light, airy perfection of a cake. A crisp outer shell that dissolves in your mouth with a rich, dark chocolate marshmellowy inside covered in a blanket of whipped cream and topped with a mountain of fresh raspberries. It’s truly heaven in your mouth. The stuff dreams are made of.

I was introduced to this dreamy meringue-based dessert about a year ago at a book club. Since then I’ve made it numerous times for friends and family (and maybe just myself once…or twice) and without fail everyone adores it and asks for the recipe. Now most children will eat pretty much any dessert, however you know something is exceptionally delicious when your one year old twins sit with their mouths open like birds begging for another bite and then smacking their lips with loud “Mmmmm’s” after each mouthful. My 3 year old son now asks for this for his birthday, not to mention every other day of the year that I happen to let slip we are making dessert.

A little back-story on Pavlova for all you historians out there – this meringue-based dessert was named after the famed Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, who toured Australia and New Zealand in 1926. The story, according to New Zealand, is that the chef of a Wellington hotel at the time created the billowy dessert in Anna’s honor, claiming inspiration from her tutu. The Australians tell a different story, claiming the Pavlova was invented at a hotel in Perth, and named after the ballerina when one of the diners declared it to be as “light as Pavlova.” What I found quite interesting is that due to Anna’s popularity, many chefs all over the world named their dishes after her. In France, there were frogs’ legs à la Pavlova; in America, Pavlova ice cream. So just to be clear – I’m talking about the Pavlova cake today.

One of my favorite things about Pavlova, is how simple they are to make. Your first time may seem a little intimidating, but really from my experience it’s been hard to mess them up. Each time I’ve made them, they’ve turned out a little different but regardless of their appearance, or even texture, they are delicious. Every. Single Time.

Let me tell you a little secret – it does not matter if it cracks!!! My first time making this dessert I nearly cried when I took it out of the oven and beheld the cracked mess upon my baking sheet. I almost dumped the whole thing in the garbage I was so distraught. However after talking to my friend – who introduced me to the dessert and gave me the recipe – I learned that cracking is normal. You just take the whole baking sheet and carefully flip the cake upside down onto your serving or cake stand. After applying a generous layer of billowy whipped cream and topping with vibrant red raspberries (or other berries or fruit of your choice) you won’t even see the cracks, let alone care when you taste this perfection!

Also, you can easily adapt or customize Pavlovas based off of your favorite flavor combinations or the fruit that is in season. There are SO many different Pavlova recipes out there, but I have to say that dark chocolate and raspberry is hard to beat. Plus I love the addition of balsamic vinegar to this recipe, it really adds a nice undertone to the dessert, rounding it out.

A couple of quick tips for Pavlova newbies:

• Use room temperature egg whites (easiest to separate the egg whites from the yolks when they are cold to prevent yolk-breakage.) If short on time though, you can place the eggs in a bowl of lukewarm water for about 5 minutes to bring them to room temperature quickly before separating the yolks from the whites.
• Make sure your cooking equipment (mixing bowls, attachments, etc.) are washed and dried; fat and grease are meringues #1 enemy.
• For best results, use Super-fine (Caster or Baker’s) sugar. This creates a smooth, silky meringue without any graininess. You can usually find Baker’s sugar at your local grocery store (I’ve found it at Walmart, Kroger, Smiths, and WinCo Foods) but if not you can order it online through Amazon, although it does come in bulk.
• Be sure to not put any pressure on the meringue after flipping it over onto your serving platter/cake stand. It is fragile and if you let your baking sheet weigh down on it after flipping it over, it may crush it. Once my Pavlova came out looking perfect and I decided I didn’t want to flip it… wrong choice. When I put the whip cream and berries on top it collapsed in the middle because the top is more airy and less stable then the bottom.
• When spreading the whipped cream on top of the meringue, start with small dollops and spread in circular motions gradually adding more spoonfuls at a time. If you dump a ginormous amount on all at once, again the Pavlova will most likely collapse. Uh duh?

Lastly, ignore most of what I’ve just said and just make this dessert. It will look gorgeous no matter what you do and how can you possibly go wrong with those textures and flavor combinations?!? The hardest part of the entire process I will warn you, is letting the Pavlova cool down slowly in the oven (see directions) to prevent any dramatic change in temperature that could cause collapse. The reason it’s so hard – because you will want to eat it right away. But the wait is WORTH IT you guys! So worth it. Thank you Dark Chocolate Raspberry Pavlova for making all of our dreams come true.

Dark Chocolate Raspberry Pavlova

★★★★★

5 from 3 reviews

An elegant yet simple to make dessert that is naturally gluten-free, this Dark Chocolate Raspberry Pavlova is sure to impress!

• Author: The Saucy Fig
• Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Cook Time: 1 hour
• Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
• Category: Dessert

Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

Meringue Base

• 6 large egg whites (room temperature)
• 2 cups superfine sugar
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• 2 ounces dark chocolate, very finely chopped (I use Ghirardelli 60% dark chocolate baking bar)

Whipping Cream

• 2 cups heavy cream*
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar (depending on how sweet you like your whipping cream)

Toppings

• 4 cups raspberries
• 2 ounces dark chocolate to decorate the top with chocolate curls/shavings (I use the other 2 oz from the baking bar that was used in the meringue base)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line your baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Use a round 9 inch cake pan (or something similar) to trace a circle onto the middle of the paper. Flip the parchment paper over so that the meringue doesn’t touch the pencil markings.
3. To make the meringue base, start by beating the egg whites with a mixer until satiny peaks form.  Slowly beat in the superfine sugar, one spoonful at a time until the meringue becomes stiff and shiny.
4. Add the balsamic vinegar, cocoa powder and finely chopped dark chocolate to the egg whites and gently fold everything into the mixture with a spatula to combine, until there is no white left.
5. Dab a little of the meringue batter with your finger or a spoon, underneath each corner of the parchment paper so that it doesn’t slide around.
6. Pour the meringue into a mound on center of the drawn circle. Using a spatula, carefully shape the meringue, smoothing the sides and top until you have a circular disc on your baking sheet.
7. Place the baking sheet in the oven, then immediately turn down the temperature to 300 degrees F and cook for one to one and a quarter hours. You will know it’s done when it looks crisp and dry on the top, but when you poke it you feel it squish a little beneath your fingers. I usually prefer undercooked rather than overcooked.
8. Turn off the oven, open the oven door slightly and let the meringue cool completely before removing from the oven. Takes 30 minutes to an hour.
9. When ready to serve, carefully invert the meringue onto your cake stand or big flat-bottomed plate, and peel off the parchment paper.
10. Whip your heaving whipping cream and sugar in an electric mixer until the cream forms soft peaks and holds onto the whisk.
11. Gently and slowly top with whipping cream, so as not to collapse your meringue.
12. Decorate with raspberries and dark chocolate curls/shavings.
13. Serve or refrigerate. We love it the next day! (See notes)

Notes

*If you love extra whipping cream just use a quart of heavy whipping cream and double the sugar! We usually do and end up using about 3/4 of it on top of the pavlova, saving the rest in the freezer for later.

*We love this the next day in the fridge! In fact, it tastes even better than the day it’s made.  The flavors meld and intensify and the texture becomes even better! So it’s a great dessert to make ahead for a party!

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