So as it turns out, I’m actually terrible at blogging…

I swear I’ll try and be better. I made this pavlova back in December of 2016 (I know…). I had never made a pavlova before as, although they tasted great the thoughts of actually making one never really excited me. I tend to steer more towards chocolate when it comes to desserts. I persevered, and since you can pretty much do anything with the toppings I thought I’d mix it up a bit!

I’ll be honest. It’s almost a year ago since I actually made this so I’m not entirely sure if the recipe I have written down is the one I used in the end! But… this combination of toppings was pretty fantastic so I felt the need to share it with the world – shout it from the rooftops if you will.

I had just bought some passion fruit curd at the Craft Fair in the RDS and was very excited to use it. As it turns out, I didn’t end up using the curd in this at all… But it gave me the inspiration I needed to make this!

Passion fruit is one of my favourite fruits/foods in general, and throw that together with a few other great foods and things get interesting! Some people might say nuts and chocolate don’t have a place on a pavlova, but give this a try and I might change your mind!

For the meringue:
6 egg whites
270g caster sugar
2 tsp cornflour
1 tsp white vinegar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

For the topping:
300ml fresh cream
50g dark chocolate (melted)
3 to 4 passion fruits
200g raspberries
100g hazelnuts (toasted)
A few squares of chocolate to grate over the top

The quantity of toppings doesn’t need to be precise, just throw on whatever looks about right. Although in this case I don’t think less is more. Pile it on!

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 120°C.

Line a tray with baking parchment. Mark a 24cm (ish) circle in pencil on the underside of the paper as a guide.

Separate your eggs and beat the whites in stand mixer (Kitchen Aid’s are a godsend for this. You can still use a hand mixer but it’ll just take a bit longer!). Whip until stiff peaks form and then start adding the sugar a spoon at a time.

Beat well until thick and glossy.

Spoon onto the lined tray and level off the top so the toppings will sit nicely on top (I on the other hand did not do this…).

Place into the oven for about an hour and a half, or until dry to the touch.

Turn off the oven and leave the pavlova to cool inside with the door slightly propped open.
This should dry it out a bit so it has that nice crispy shell. I made mine on the same day of baking but I read somewhere that leaving it overnight provides great results so I’ll try that next time!

So now it’s time for toppings!

Melt your dark chocolate and drizzle over the pavlova. This will be covered by the cream so it doesn’t really matter if it’s messy. Let this harden a bit before adding the cream.

Beat the cream and layer generously over the top.

Scoop your passion fruit over the top – I also liked to add a full passion fruit cut up on top for decoration.

Scatter the raspberries evenly over the top.

Toast the hazelnuts for a few minutes in the oven or over a pan until fragrant and sightly browned. Crush them up a bit with a rolling pin.

Add to the pavlova et voilà!

Demolish!