Chocolate and Raspberry Pavlova

I have an essay due next week and I have no motivation whatsoever to do it... I'm not normally like this... oh, why?!  *sigh...

Anyway, let's talk about something delicious.  Here's the thing, I don't like wasting food.  When a recipe calls for just the egg yolks, there's no way I'm throwing away the whites.  And when I have egg white lying aroun in the kitchen, that usually means pavlova day or meringues, depending my mood.

Pavlova was created in honour of the Russian ballet dancer Anna Pavlova.  There's been a debate over the origin of pavlova whether it's from Australia or New Zealand.  Well, I don't know, but what I know is it's delicious and that what matters to me. 

A good pavlova for me should have a dry and crsipy crust and the inside should be soft and marshmallowy.  And of course, adding cocoa powder makes it even better.  You could certainly add some chopped semiweet chocolate to the pavlova, but I didn't.  Instead, I'm topping the pavlova with chocolate whipped cream (and raspberries). Yum...

Chocolate & Raspberry Pavlova

For the chocolate meringue base:

4 egg whites

12 tablespoons caster sugar

3 tablespoons cocoa powder, sieved

1 teaspoon white wine vinegar

1 teaspoon corn flour

For the topping:

284 ml double cream, lightly whipped with 2 teaspoon of cocoa powder

300 grams raspberries

Grated chocolate of your choice

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

Beat the eggs with freestanding or hand mixer until it reaches peak form and the beat in the sugar a tablespoon at a time until the meringue is stiff and shine.   If you touch the meringue with the tip of your fingers, it should be silky smooth, not grainy.  Gently fold in the cocoa powder, vinegar and corn flour.  The vinegar and corn flour will ensure the inside of the meringue to be soft and chewy.  Mound on to the baking tray into a fat dome, smoothing the sides and top.

Put into the oven and immediately turn the temperature to 150C and cook for about an hour.  After an hour, the outside should look crisp and dry.  Turn off the oven and open the door slightly, and let the meringue cool completely.

When ready to serve, invert the giant meringue into the platter of your choice and then pile your chocolate cream and raspberries and grate some chocolate on top if you wish.