It should come as no surprise to any of you that not only do I write a baking blog, but I read a ton of others.  (After all, most of my recipes are adapted from or inspired by other blogs!)  So, in reading through older posts of some of my favorite blogs, I came across something I had never heard of before.  Pavlovas.

Have you heard of them?  Well, I had to figure out what this was all about, so I went to a trusted source that is never wrong (haha), Wikipedia.  The pavlova, as it turns out, is a meringue-based dessert named after the Russian ballet dancer Anna Pavlova, and it is typical to Australia and New Zealand. 

I like merengue!  And most people like chocolate!  Sounds good to me!

A cool thing about this is that you can really alter it in any way you’d like.  The meringue “dish” can be any size.  I made mine about 1.5″ diameter, but you could make them as big as your imagination.  Mine were finger food treats.  You could make a “bowl” out of it, fill it with more mousse and fresh fruit and have a dessert course.  Or, go even bigger and have it serve multiple people.  You can also be creative in the form that the shell/dish takes.  I piped out a circle, but you could use molds (or just dollops) and then scoop out the center before baking.

I should say that the original recipe made significantly more mousse and I was left with a ton that I will find some other use for.  The mousse recipe below, therefore, is half of what was originally suggested.  If you intend to create larger pavlovas (like I mentioned above, for a larger dessert plate), you might want to consider making more.  For small individual pavlovas, this should be more than enough.

Chocolate Pavlovas with Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse
inspired by: Alpineberry

for meringue
3 large egg whites
1/2 c + 1 T granulated sugar
1/4 c powdered sugar
1/3 c cocoa powder

• Preheat oven to 200 degrees.  Line two baking sheets with parchment or slipat and set aside.
• With a whisk attachment, mix egg whites in mixer on low until soft peaks form.   Increase speed to high and gradually add granulated sugar, 1 Tablespoon at a time, until stiff peaks form.  (Firm but moist.)
• Sift powdered sugar and cocoa into egg whites and gently fold together to incorporate.
• Using a pastry bag, pipe meringue into “dish” shapes (or use your own creative ideas).
• Bake for 2-3 hours, until meringues are dry and crisp.  Cool and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

for Mascarpone Mousse
3/4 c heavy cream
grated zest of 1/2 lemon
4.5 oz of bittersweet (72%) chocolate, chopped
8 oz mascarpone
pinch nutmeg
1 T orange juice

• Put 1/4 c of heavy cream and lemon juice in a saucepan over medium heat.  Once warm, add chocolate and whisk until smooth.  Transfer to a bowl and let cool to room temperature.
• In a mixer on low, combine mascarpone, nutmeg, and remaining cream until mascarpone is loose (about 1 minute).  Add orange juice and whip on medium until it forms soft peaks.  Do not overbeat!
• Fold mascarpone mixture into chocolate mixture until well incorporated.
• Using pastry bag, pipe mascarpone mousse into meringue shells.  (Or just spoon it in and make it pretty!)

serves: 25 (with my size shells)
calories: 100