Chocolate Chocolate Pavlova with Ice Cream, Fresh Strawberries, and Melted Dark Chocolate {recipe} (2024)

FAQs

Why does my chocolate pavlova collapse? ›

Overbeaten egg whites: If you over-beat the egg whites, this can cause them to curdle and result in a pavlova that collapses after baking. The vinegar added to the egg whites helps the eggs to hold the air and stabilises the pavlova.

Decorate your pavlova just before serving. Do it too far in advance and you risk a soggy pavlova, Sampat says. The decorations, however, can be prepped ahead of time: whip the cream up to a day ahead, cut your fruit the morning of, and store components in separate airtight containers.

Sometimes the top will stay put and you'll have to carefully and very gently saw it out with a sharp knife. Add the whipped cream and then, gently drop the assorted fresh fruit into the cavity and on top. Finish off the look with a light dusting of powdered sugar.

Balsamic vinegar + orange juice + lime juice — Imagine the dressing on a Strawberry-Spinach Salad, now in snack form. Lemon curd — Why bother baking a whole cake (especially on a hot summer day), when you can just dip strawberries in it? Mascarpone. Crème fraîche — You can't go wrong with strawberries and cream.

Bake for the amount of time in the recipe without opening the door to peek. At the end of the cooking time, turn oven off, prop the door ajar and leave inside to cool. Store cooled pavlova in an airtight container until ready for serving.

Acid – you can use 1/2 teaspoon of cream of tartar or 1 teaspoon white, apple cider vinegar, or even lemon juice. The pavlova will NOT taste like vinegar, I promise. The acid helps the egg whites hold onto air and, like the sugar, helps prevent the egg whites from collapsing.

It's best to make the pavlova the night before and allow to cool in the oven over night. Carefully remove the baking paper, place on a serving plate and store in a cool dry place in an airtight container until ready to decorate. To prevent it going soggy only decorate when ready to serve.

What's the Difference Between Pavlova and Meringue? Pavlovas and meringues are both made of whipped egg white, but a Pavlova has a delicate crispy exterior with pillowy soft marshmallow inside, while meringue is dry and crisp all the way through.

Make ahead tip: Make the meringue disc and store in a deep airtight container for up to 2 days. About 3-4 hours before serving, top with whipped cream and keep in the fridge. Just before serving, add the fruits and raspberry sauce.

Pavlovas are best eaten within 24 hours of baking and soon after they are decorated. You can make it and leave it to cool in the oven overnight, or you can store a cooled, undecorated Pavlova in an airtight container.

How do you keep pavlova crispy? ›

Store your pavlova in a dry, airtight container.

If your pavlova is left in the open, the sugar in the meringue will absorb moisture in your kitchen's air. This added moisture will turn your crispy meringue into a soft and sticky mess. An airtight container will help shield your meringue from moisture in the air.

Pavlova is traditionally topped with fresh seasonal fruit, making it the perfect pairing with sweeter wines.

A moldy strawberry should be thrown out. If a berry is just bruised but does not show any signs of mold, the bruised part can be trimmed away. If you accidentally eat a moldy strawberry, you'll know because moldy strawberries will have an off-flavor that is a bit sour and acidic and may remind you of blue cheese.

Macerate them

This is the best way to intensify the flavour of your strawberries. By tossing them in sugar (be it white, brown or – for a real treat – sugar infused with a vanilla pod) and leaving them to sit for a while, you not only get juicier, sweeter berries but you're also left with a natural syrup to drizzle.

Store-bought berries usually look clean and ready to eat, but little critters might be hiding in them. Soaking strawberries in a salt water bath can draw out bugs and other contaminants. Fill a bowl with about two cups of warm water and two tablespoons of salt.

If you overbeat the mixture after adding the sugar, your meringue may crack and collapse during baking. To avoid this, only beat the mixture until the sugar dissolves – test this by rubbing a little of the mixture between your fingertips.

Adding the sugar too quickly can deflate the mixture, which means you will have a less airy pavlova. If you mix in the sugar too quickly, then you risk adding too much air quickly, which can also destabilize the meringue.

Some recipes call for a small amount of cream of tartar or cornstarch, which helps stabilize the meringue and prevent it from deflating.

You're not whisking long enough. It has to be really stiff and thick. You have to whisk for a very very long time. The egg whites should be shiny and glossy and stay in stiff peaks… so if you make a peak it stays up, it doesn't flop over.