CHOCOLATE, POMEGRANATE AND SPICED ORANGE PARTY PAVLOVA
(Serves 15) For the brown sugar meringue mixture:
250g light brown soft sugar 250g golden caster sugar 250g free range egg whites (about 7-8 eggs)
1tsp of ground cinnamon
For the cream filling:
1kg double cream 50g icing sugar
Chocolate dipped clementines:
50g dark chocolate, melted 6 clementines, segmented A touch of sea salt (optional)
For the sticky spiced orange drizzle:
Juice of 2 oranges, or a splash of readymade orange juice 50g pomegranate molasses 1 cinnamon stick 2 whole star anise
Chocolate drips:
100g dark chocolate, to be melted and drizzled over the sides
Optional decorations:
Cinnamon meringue sticks Chocolate orange matchmakers Edible gold leaf Pomegranate seeds First, make the brown sugar meringue mixture.
Prepare two flat baking trays with non-stick baking paper for the pavlova, and draw two circles on the baking paper as a guide – 13cm and 18cm in diameter. Line another flat baking tray with non-stick paper for the decorative meringue sticks.
Preheat the oven to 200C, and line a deep baking tray with baking parchment.
Then pour in the brown sugar and the golden caster sugar and heat it in the oven for five to seven minutes. The brown sugar caramelises quickly, so bash and stir with a wooden spoon every couple of minutes to stop it from clumping up. Heating the sugar helps to create a glossy, stable mixture.
Pour the egg whites into a mixer and whisk them slowly, allowing small stabilising bubbles to form, then increase the speed until the egg whites form stiff peaks. Don’t let them over whisk!
Take the sugar out of the oven, and turn oven down to 100C. With your mixer on full speed, very slowly, spoon by spoon, add the hot sugar into the beaten egg whites, making sure the mixture comes back up to stiff peaks after each addition of sugar. Don’t add any large lumps of sugar that may have caramelised.
Once all of the sugar has been added, add in the ground cinnamon and continue to whisk on full speed until a smooth, stiff and glossy mixture has been achieved. Continue to whisk for at least five minutes once the sugar has incorporated. Tip: If the mixture feels gritty between your fingers, keep whisking at full speed until it has dissolved.
Working quickly, before the meringue begins to deflate, spoon the meringue mixture into the pre-drawn circles, and carefully shape smooth, tall nests with a palette knife. Use the back of a spoon to create a deep well.
Bake low and slow in the oven for about four hours. When cooked, the meringue should have a firm base and come away from the baking paper. Set aside to cool. This can be made up to four days in advance and kept in a cool, dry place. Next, make the meringue sticks. With any spare meringue mixture, fill up a disposable piping bag, and cut a small 5p-sized hole in the tip. Use this to pipe long sticks onto a baking tray. Pop these in the oven with the pavlova, but take them out after an hour and a half.
After that, focus on the spiced pomegranate and orange drizzle.
Put the orange juice and spices in a small saucepan and heat to infuse the spices and slightly reduce – keep an eye on it, as it reduces (and burns) fast.
When it’s nice and spicy, remove from the heat and add the pomegranate molasses to make a sticky sour and spiced syrup.
To make the chocolate dipped clementines, dip the segmented clementines in melted chocolate, and lay on a piece of baking paper. Sprinkle with a little sea salt and allow to harden.
To serve, place the largest pavlova shell in the centre of a serving platter. Drizzle with melted chocolate, letting it drip down the sides of the nest. Whip the double cream, adding icing sugar until soft peaks form, and slather this over the top. Place on top of this the smaller-sized pavlova, and decorate the chocolate drips and cream too.
Let your inner baker get creative with the chocolate dipped clementines, pomegranate seeds, cinnamon meringue sticks, orange matchstick makers and gold leaf – then give it a final flourish with the sticky spiced glaze.