Chocolate Pavlova

Serves: 8-10

Ingredients:

meringue base

6 large egg whites

300 g caster sugar

3 T cocoa powder, sieved

1 T balsamic vinegar

50 g dark chocolate, finely chopped 

topping

500 ml double cream

500 g raspberries

3 T dark chocolate, coarsely grated

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 °C and line a baking tray with baking paper. 

Beat egg whites until satiny peaks form, and then beat in the sugar a spoonful at a time until that meringue is still 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 the baking sheet in a fat circle approximately 23 cm in diameter, smoothing the side and top. Place in the oven, then immediately turn the temperature down to 150 °C and cook for about 1 to 1 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 meringue disc cool completely.

When you’re ready to serve, invert on to 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.