Chocolate Pavlova

Hey there, so at the weekend I whipped up one of my favourite desserts ever .. Pavlova. If you aren’t familiar with the beauty of a Pavlova well basically its a huge meringue with cream on top and fruit, its amazinnngg. This was the first time however I decided to make a chocolate one rather than just an ordinary plain meringue and I used a slightly different recipe this time which is actually one of Nigella Lawson’s which you can find here, however I made a few odd changes. While they always appear to look a right mess (or is that just when I make them..) they taste incredible so do try this out if you haven’t made one 🙂

Ingredients

6 large egg whites

300g caster sugar

3 tablespoons cocoa powder (sieved)

50g dark chocolate (finely chopped)

Preheat over to Gas mark 4/180°C/350ºF. So first of all, beat the egg whites in a bowl until it begins to peak and then add in the sugar one spoonful at a time until its nice and glossy.

Then add in the cocoa powder and the chopped chocolate and mix.

Then place the mixture in a circle on baking paper on a baking tray. Place in the oven and reduce the temperature to Gas Mark 2/180°C/350ºF and cook for 1 hour and 15 mins or until crispy round the edges. Then allow to cool. Then whip up some cream (I used a 284ml tub) and place on top of the meringue and add some chopped strawberries (or fruit of your choice) and some sprinkled chocolate.

And Voila!

 

Raspberry Cream Cake

So I was feeling quite peckish over the weekend and having nothing to do I thought I would take on a simple quick recipe. My first thoughts were to make a simple Victoria sponge however I made a few little changes adding a top cream layer and white chocolate/raspberry decoration. This is another easy recipe which involves adding all the ingredients into one bowl. Enjoy 🙂

Ingredients 

175g soft butter

157g caster sugar

3 medium eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

175g self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

Into a large bowl, I whisked up all the ingredients above.

Then I divided the mixture between two 8 inch tins and baked in the oven at Gas mark 4/180C/350F for 25-30 mins. Then I left the cakes to cool and prepared the filling. Spread a layer of raspberry jam on one side of one cake and whipped cream ( I whipped around 150ml of double cream up) and spread it on the other cake then sandwich together.

Then I added some cream to the top layer of the cake, grated over some white chocolate and finished with a few raspberries to decorate. Ta Da!

Summer Recipe: Eton Mess

Wimbledon tennis tournament in London has just started and one thing its famous for is its typically British strawberries and cream. If you are planning on watching the games this week and next or maybe just fancy something sweet for the summer sun then this recipe is perfect for you. As well as strawberries and cream, Eton Mess combines this with meringue to create a irresistible quick dessert.

Ingredients (for 4)

450g strawberries chopped

300ml double cream

4 meringue nests

Instructions (15 mins)

Chop 100g of the strawberries and press through a fine sieve using the back of a wooden spoon, to make a smooth purée. Set aside.

Quarter or roughly chop the rest of the strawberries. Whip the cream in a large bowl to soft peaks. Break the meringue nests into small pieces then gently and lightly fold into the cream with the chopped strawberries.

Divide between 4 small bowls and serve each one drizzled with the strawberry purée.

Credit to Realfood.Tesco

Pick of the Month:August 2010

This month’s Pick of the Month is this pretty rose printed dress from Miss Selfridge. Summer may be nearly over but who cares when you get a dress so nice and even better its only £20.00 after it was reduced from £40.00 !

P.s – Sorry for not posting last month , i was on vacation and didn’t have time.

Image: Miss Selfridge