Cappuccino Pavlova

I woke up this morning thinking today can't be the 4th already, meaning I have to go back to work. I hope I'm not too late at saying happy new year to all of you. Hope you all had a wonderful celebration with family and friends. My friends and I spent the new year in Edinburgh, Scotland and it was brilliant. We stayed in a beautiful apartment hotel and I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with such nice company.

But I was glad to be back home. I love the comfort of my own bed. After days of eating out, I struggled a bit at deciding the first dish to cook in the new year. But at the end I decided to cook the exact same dish I had a year ago: poached chicken with lardons and lentils (find the recipe here). Reason number one, it's delicious, obviously; and reason number two, lentils signify good fortune, wealth and prosperity in some cultures. I had a pretty good year last year and I'm hoping 2012 would be an even better year to all of us.

And of course, I also have to start the new year with something sweet and this cappuccino pavlova is simply divine. I love coffee based desserts anyway, like tiramisu (all time favourite dessert), so this is heaven on a plate, in my mouth and my stomach. The pavlova base here is infused with instant espresso powder and then topped with softly whipped cream and dusting of cocoa powder which gives the pavlova the cappuccino look. I think you'll enjoy this.

Cappuccino Pavlova
Recipe by Nigella Lawson
For list of ingredients and instructions, click here.