Over XMAS time Jason and I hosted a dinner for the inlaws and Jason's cousins. The menu turned out pretty well and I was asked to share some of the recipes. I thought that this would be as good a forum as any so I will slowly proceed to do so over the next few days (as I grab snatches of time between Grace's needy crying)
First up (I am going backwards) is dessert. It was a Chocolate Berry Pavlova from Nigella Lawson's book, Forever Summer. It is super easy but looks super impressive.
For the chocolate meringue base:
6 egg whites
300 g of sugar
3 tbsp cocoa powder sifted
1 tsp balsamic or red wine vinegar
50 g of dark chocolate, finely chopped
Preheat the oven to 375 F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Beat the egg whites until satiny peaks form and then add the sugar one spoonful at a time until stiff and shiny. sprinkle over the cocoa, vinegar and chocolate. Fold everything together gently. Then mound on the parchment paper in about a 23 cm diameter (personal note: do not exceed this diameter or it will spread too much. You also might want to draw the circle on the paper prior to doing this). Place in the oven and immediately turn the temperature down to 300 F and cook for 1 to 1.25 hours until meringue is crisp on edges and dry on top. When you push the center is should give slightly. Turn off the oven and leave the door ajar to cool completely.
For topping:
500 ml whipping cream
500 g fresh berries
2-3 tbsp of coarsely grated dark chocolate
When ready to serve, beat the cream until soft and thick. Pile it on the meringue. Then pile berries on top of that. Finally, grate the chocolate over top of the berries.
It is tremendous
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