After making Nigella's semifreddo with 4 egg yolks, I had to make something with the whites - thank God for pavlova! And this chocolate version rocks! I made it in the evening but waited till the next morning when I had the toppings to photograph it, and ended up having pav for breakfast. Yes!

This recipe is shamelessly cut and pasted from Nigella:

6 medium egg whites (I used 4)

300 grams caster sugar (I used 200g for 4 whites)

3 tablespoon(s) cocoa powder sieved

1 teaspoon(s) balsamic vinegar (or red wine vinegar)

50 grams dark chocolate finely chopped

For the topping

500 ml double cream

500 grams raspberries (I used strawberries)

3 tablespoon(s) dark chocolate grated

 

Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4 and line a baking tray with baking parchment.

Beat the egg whites until satiny peaks form, and then beat in the sugar a spoonful at a time until the meringue is stiff and shiny. Sprinkle over the cocoa and vinegar, and the chopped chocolate. Then gently fold everything until the cocoa is thoroughly mixed in. Mound on to a baking sheet in a fat circle approximately 23cm in diameter, smoothing the sides and top. Place in the oven, then immediately turn the temperature down to 150°C/gas mark 2 and cook for about one to one and a quarter hours. When it's ready it should look crisp around the edges and on the sides and be dry on top, but when you prod the centre you should feel the promise of squidginess beneath your fingers. Turn off the oven and open the door slightly, and let the chocolate meringue disc cool completely.

When you're ready to serve, invert on to a big, flat-bottomed plate. Whisk the cream till thick but still soft and pile it on top of the meringue, then scatter over the raspberries. Coarsely grate the chocolate so that you get curls rather than rubble, as you don't want the raspberries' luscious colour and form to be obscured, and sprinkle haphazardly over the top, letting some fall, as it will, on the plate's rim.


I'm entering this recipe into October's Sweet NZ food blog round up, hosted this month by Couscous & Consciousness