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Gemma's Bigger Bolder Baking Chocolate Pavlova with Strawberries & Cream
Hi Bold Bakers! Today we have lots of reasons to celebrate. First off, it's the 50th episode
of Bigger Bolder Baking. And it is the first day of 2015 so Happy New Year from my home
here in Ireland. To ring in the New Year in style, I thought we would make my favourite
dessert which is Pavlova with Strawberries and Chocolate. So let's get baking!
So making Pavlova and Meringue is actually really easy to do. You just have to follow a few
guidelines and you're going to get perfect results everytime.
One of those tips is to have room temperature egg whites. I like to leave my egg whites
out of the fridge overnight so they whip up much better the next day.
Another important tip is that when you're cracking your eggs, make sure that no egg
yolk gets into the egg white because that will actually stop them from whipping.
Another way to ensure a beautiful fluffy meringue is to make sure there's no grease in your
bowl or your whisk so maybe give them another wash or wipeout.
And then in with your eggs.
Before we start whipping our egg whites, let's get our sugar ready. Straight into the sugar,
I'm going to add some vinegar and what the vinegar does is that it helps to stabilize
the eggs and help them foam really well. You can also use lemon juice or cream of tartar.
Also to the sugar, we're going to add in corn flour. And what the corn flour does it gives
you that beautiful marshmallowy pavlova that I love. Some people like it a little bit chewier
but I love the marshmallowy effect.
Great! So we're ready to whip our egg whites. We're going to start the machine on low and
let it form slow bubbles and then we're going to turn it up and then slowly add in bit by bit the our sugar.
Another little tip to help your egg whites beat is actually add in a pinch of salt at the start.
Perfect! So this is the stage when you start to add in your sugar. When the egg whites
are kind of soft peaks and nice and firm. In my previous video for making meringues,
I showed you how to heat up the sugar. So you can heat up the sugar, or you can leave
it cold. It's up to you.
When I was young, my mum would make Pavlova for dinner parties and our job was to stand
by the machine and spoonful by spoonful add in the sugar. It probably took us like 15
minutes. It's one of those food memories you never forget.
And that's it, all of our sugar is in there. Now let's check what lovely pavlova that we made.
Gorgeous! Now this is what you want. A beautiful stiff meringue. This is how thick
your pavlova should be. Beautiful look at that! Yum!
The pavlova that we're making today is actually chocolate and how you do that is simply sift
in some cocoa powder. But you can also add in nuts, you can add in vanilla, any flavor
you like, or you can leave it plain.
Then gently fold in your cocoa powder. You don't want to knock out any of the lovely
air you created in the meringue. And you also want to keep some of those streaks of cocoa
so you just want to do it kind of gently. Perfect! Look at these beautiful ripples.
This is exactly what I'm going for.
Pavlova is another one of those recipes that I love. It's roughly two ingredients, and
it's so easy to make. And man, is the end result awesome!
To bake your pavlova, you're going to line two trays with parchment paper and then draw
an 8 inch circle because that's roughly the size that we want. And then turn it over so
the ink is on the other side.
Lovely!
Now simply scoop your pavlova onto the trays keeping all of those beautiful cocoa ripples
intact. And then just spread it out to the circle. Try and keep it as even as possible
but don't worry about it. It's rustic and homemade.
And then continue with the second layer. After doing 50 episodes already, you guys know that
I'm obsessed with meringue.
Here's the important tip about baking Pavlova. Bake in a low oven at 240 degrees F for 90
minutes. Once the 90 minutes are up, turn off the oven. Keep the door closed and leave
them in there overnight so they can dry out.
Here is some Pavlova that I made yesterday because you can make them a few days in advance.
As you can see there are some cracks forming on top but don't worry about that, that will
always happen. It's just part of Pavlova's charm.
These pavlovas look beautiful and I can actually smell the cocoa by just standing here.
Although our pavlovas are cocoa flavored, I want an extra oomph of chocolate so we're
going to serve it with plain cream and chocolate cream.
Go ahead and whip up some cream as you normally would. To make your chocolate cream, add some
whipped cream to your melted chocolate. Add in a little bit at the start. Mix it to introduce
it and then add in the rest. Keep on mixing so the chocolate doesn't set.
A lovely flavor that complements chocolate well are strawberries and I'm going to put
them in the center and on top of our Pavlova. These strawberries are local in my hometown
of Wexford in Ireland and they're some of the nicest you'll ever eat.
Now let's bring it all together and assemble our Pavlova.
Because Pavlova is so delicate, make sure you assemble it on your serving dish. Top
this generously with your chocolate cream which is actually kind of like a little mock
chocolate mousse. For your pavlova base, pick whichever pavlova wasn't looking the best
because you can always cover it over with the cream. Bring it all the way out to the
edges. This looks so decadent.
Next, add a thick layer of your freshly whipped cream. I think what I love about this dessert
is actually the texture. It's the crispy and the soft and the creamy. I'm all about textures
when it comes to dessert.
Next top with a layer of sliced strawberries. You can be as generous as you like with these.
Carefully lay your second pavlova on top and garnish with some of your chocolate cream,
fresh cream, and then some whole beautiful strawberries on top. And then for a nice finishing
touch, I like to add some grated chocolate.
And there you have it, a beautiful decadent dessert worthy of any celebration.
Happy New Year to my Bold Bakers everywhere! I have huge plans for 2015 so make sure you
subscribe to my channel so you don't miss out on any of the great episodes to come.
Thank you so much for watching, and I'll see you back here again next Thursday for more
Bigger Bolder Baking.