Recipe: chocolate and cinnamon pavlova

With a cinnamon vanilla crème légère and poached pears

I have memories of standing in the kitchen with my mum, watching as she whisked egg whites by hand, pausing to add a teaspoon of sugar at a time and then resuming. It was like magic–watching as the mixture transformed from a frothy puddle of egg whites into a glorious, shiny, billowing mound of meringue–it is one of my earliest and strongest food memories. Pavlovas were my mum’s go-to dessert, so watching her make them was a fairly regular occurrence. She would make tiny little meringue quenelles with leftover mixture which I would gobble up as soon as the baking tray came out of the oven, and I revelled in how the meringue would slowly dissolve on my tongue.

I remember the first time I made my own, and how it felt almost wrong to be doing so when it felt like my mum’s territory and not mine, but at the same time it felt somewhat moving and lovely, like I was carrying on a tradition. For this reason, pavlovas will forever be a very special dessert to me. They feel both retro and forever young, and there are never ending possibilities when it comes to customising them. I’ve grown fond of piping the meringue as it creates a very beautiful and unique structure. I most often reach for this piping nozzle:

Here’s a link to a similar one

Mum used to make hers with golden caster sugar which gave the meringue the most beautiful, softly gleaming hue and subtle caramel flavour. If you can find it, I recommend making yours with it, too. You can make all components of this dessert a day ahead if you like. For the meringue, you can leave it in the oven overnight once baked. If making the meringue the same day, I recommend leaving it in the oven (switching off the oven once finished baking and not opening the door) for at least 5 hours–this helps to prevent cracks in the meringue. The crème légère can be made and kept in a sealed container in the fridge overnight, and the same goes for the poached pears.

For the crème légère, this recipe makes slightly more than needed to top the pavlova, but uses up all of the egg yolks leftover from meringue. You can serve the extra alongside, use it to fill choux puffs, or if you have any poached pears leftover, you can simply serve it with them. It keeps in the fridge in a sealed container for 3 days.

Serves 8-10

Ingredients

For the meringue:
egg whites 3, from large eggs
caster sugar 150g, golden if you can find it
dutch cocoa powder 15g
white wine vinegar 1 tsp
corn starch 1 tsp
ground cinnamon 1.5 tsp
flaky sea salt a pinch

For the crème légère:
egg yolks 3, from large eggs
caster sugar 55g
ground cinnamon 1 heaped tsp
cornstarch 25g
flaky sea salt a pinch
whole milk 340ml
vanilla 1 tbsp extract, or 1 pod
butter 30g, room temperature
double cream 200ml

For the poached pears:
medium pears 4, semi-ripe, peeled
chamomile tea 3 bags
water 950ml, boiling
caster sugar 165g
fresh ginger 1 inch

To finish (if desired):
roasted pistachios 100g, roughly chopped
pear 1, ripe and unpeeled
dark chocolate 70g

1. Preheat the oven to 150C fan. Line a large baking sheet with baking paper.

2. Add your egg whites to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk on medium-high speed until white and foamy and holding stiff peaks. Turn the speed down to medium and begin adding your sugar 1 tbsp at a time. Once all of the sugar has been added, add the white wine vinegar and corn starch and continue to mix for a further 20 seconds then turn off the mixer, add your salt and sift in your cocoa powder and cinnamon and whisk on high speed until the mixture is shiny and holds stiff peaks.

3. Using 1/3 of the meringue mixture, use a spatula to make a smooth disc of the mixture, about 6-7 inches in circumference, in the centre of your prepared baking tray. Prepare your piping bag with your piping nozzle and add the remaining meringue mixture. In a wave motion, pipe the meringue around the entire circumference on the meringue disc (I made a tutorial on how to make the meringue on my Instagram). Place in the oven and immediately turn the heat down to 130C fan. Bake for 70 minutes without opening the door during baking. Once finished baking, turn off the oven and leave the meringue inside–do not open the door–for at least 5 hours, or overnight.

4. To make the crème légère, first we will make a crème pâtissière. Place your sugar, egg yolks, salt, cinnamon and cornstarch into a medium-sized bowl and whisk until smooth and slightly lighter in colour. Place the milk in a medium-sized pot, scrape out the seeds from the vanilla pod and add the seeds and pod to the milk. Heat on a medium heat until the milk begins to steam and simmer then remove from the heat. In a slow and steady stream, pour the milk over the egg yolk mixture, whisking the entire time. Once all has been added and the mixture is smooth, add it back into the pot and heat on a low-medium heat, whisking the entire time, until the mixture has thickened and coats the back of a spoon. Pour the mixture into a large bowl and cover with cling film, ensuring the film touches the entire surface of the mixture. Leave to cool for 30 minutes at room temp, then place in the fridge to cool completely. Once cool, use a whisk to loosen the mixture and mix it until smooth. Place your double cream into a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer and whisk until thick and fluffy. Add 1/3 of the cream into the crème pâtissière and mix thoroughly with a spatula until homogenous. Add the remaining 2/3 of cream but this time gently fold it into the mixture. Cover with cling film and place in the fridge until ready to use.

5. To make the poached pears, placed the tea bags into a medium-sized pot and pour over your boiling water. Add your sugar and ginger to the pot and bring to a gentle simmer. Add your peeled pears and cover with a round of baking paper that fits inside the pot and touches the surface of the pears. Leave to simmer gently for 30 minutes, then turn off the heat and allow the pears to cool in the poaching liquid. Once cooled, remove the pears from the liquid, cut each pear in half and carefully slice thin strips for serving. Place the prepared pears in a sealed container and refrigerate until ready to use. You could save the poaching liquid to use as a cake soak, if you like. If you want to make the chocolate pear, place the pear onto a small plate, melt the chocolate in a small bowl in the microwave, and then use a spoon to pour it over the pear. Allow to cool completely.

6. To build the pavlova, place your cooled meringue onto a flat serving plate. You can either spoon the crème légère on top, or pipe it on using the same method that we used for the meringue. Scatter the pistachios around the outer edge of the crème légère, and place your chocolate pear (if making) into the centre–instead of the chocolate pear, you could place slices of your poached pears on top. Serve each slice with a few slices of poached pear (if not putting on top).