Black Forest Pavlova

Black Forest Pavlova

A pavlova is without question one of my favourite desserts. I have quite the variety to choose from a simple straightforward strawberry, passionfruit curd, espresso and my newest pav is a chocolate one. My black forest pavlova consists of a crisp chocolate shell. That has a squidgy chocolate interior that is topped with a simple cherry curd, lashings of luscious softly whipped cream. Top it off with a scattering of finely chopped chocolate.

To maintain maximum crispness of the pavlova I suggest you don’t assemble more than an hour ahead. However, this doesn’t mean that you can’t prepare elements ahead of time. The base can be made a day ahead and stored in an air tight container. The curd also can be made the day ahead and stored in the fridge until required.

August Recipes

August Recipe additions

Summer may be coming to a rapid end. The weather has changed, the evening began to draw in. Whilst I do welcome the thought of cosy and comforting meals that will ensue, I am not quite ready to give up on the brightness and freshness that summer eats provide. Below are a few of the latest recipe editions to the site during August. You may notice that some of that cold grey skied weather has prompted a few dishes that help bolster and warm the soul. I do hope they can bring a little summery brightness to your eating.

strawberry tart
Super Simple Strawberry Tart
Bolognaise meat sauce
Bolognese Meat Sauce
Sausage Ragù Recipe
Sausage Ragú
rapid reto cheesecake
Rapid Retro Cheesecake

Passion Fruit Pavlova

A pavlova is one of my favourite desserts. I make them so often as you may have noticed. All that tender sweet marshmallowy centre and the crisp exterior topped with softly whipped cream and berries, how could you not love it? It is a perfect dessert for feeding a large gathering as most of the work can be done ahead of time then it’s just a matter of assembling. It is also great for using up eggs, every time I make something that requires egg whites only or egg yolks only, I freeze the part I’m not using in freezer bags. This prevents any waste. Anytime I want a custard or a pavlova I know I have a stash in the freezer, simply grab them from the freezer and defrost in the fridge.

If you would like a quicker version and don’t want to make your own curd, although, when you have the yolks leftover from the pav base it would seem like madness not too. You could buy a jar of lemon curd and scoop the pulp and seeds of a few passion fruit into this with a little squeeze of lemon juice to increase the zingyness.