Thursday 8 January 2015

Cappuccino Pavlova

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Yes, amongst all the steamed fish and green juice of January, I bring you a coffee meringue and cream.
But seriously guys, please let me introduce you to my new favourite dessert.
I haven't shared a pavlova recipe since this one, and sure there have been layer cakespies  and roulades  but I kind of missed a good old pavlova. But it's winter and soft fruit isn't exactly at its best (but last year may have been a little different).

Well, how about a pavlova that isn't weighed down with fresh fruit? Yes, that's right. I'm removing any possibility of a pavlova being vaguely healthy.

The centre of attention of this Cappuccino Pavlova is a naturally gluten-free coffee meringue - sweet, crispy meringue speckled with ground coffee which is mallowy in the middle. We finish with freshly whipped cream and a dusting of cocoa (to echo the appearance of our pavlova's inspiration). 
The coffee aroma and flavour in this simple dessert is beautiful. An epic ending to any meal. Gift this to someone and it'll make their day.

A Simple List of Ingredients:
1. Caster Sugar
2. Ground Coffee
3. Egg Whites
4. Salt
5. Cornflour
6. White Wine Vinegar
7. Double Cream
8. Cocoa Powder

Bismillah, let's begin!

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4 or 180C.
Line a baking tray with baking parchment.

First, make the coffee meringue. Take 125 grams Caster Sugar.

Next, the star of the show. Ground coffee! Any of these  will do. 

Add 2 teaspoons Ground Coffee to the sugar.

Stir together.

And, set aside.

Next, pour 2 Egg Whites into a mixing bowl.

Add a Pinch of Salt.

Using an electric whisk, whisk until soft peaks form.

Now, grab the sugar and coffee mixture.

With the machine still whisking, add a tablespoon of the mixture at a time ...

.. until it has all been added in.

Keep the machine whisking on a high speed until the mixture is stiff and with glossy peaks.

Next, take 1 teaspoon Cornflour.

And, add to the bowl.

Finally, 1/2 teaspoon White Wine Vinegar (yes, it's Halal).

Add to the bowl.

Gently fold in the cornflour and vinegar.

Put the mixture onto the prepared tray, and shape into approx. 9 inch circle. Keep the edges slightly higher than the middle.

Place the tray into the oven, and immediately turn the oven down to Gas Mark 3 or 150C.
Bake for 30 minutes until golden and crisp.
Switch off the oven and leave to cool completely inside.

Once baked, meringue should be cracked but crisp. Inside there will be a mallowy centre with specks of the coffee all the way through it.


While the meringue cools in the oven, make the topping. Pour 150ml Double Cream into a bowl.


Whisk the cream with an electric whisk until soft peaks form. 


Place the cooled meringue onto a serving plate.


As you can see, mine cracked on the top because I flipped it over to get it off the parchment but it doesn't matter because the cracks will be covered by cream. Wow, that was a long sentence.
P.S. a tip that I recently learned was to just cut around the meringue and slide the paper onto the serving plate.

Spread the whipped cream over the meringue.


Now, to give the cappuccino pavlova its traditional topping - cocoa powder.


Place 1/2 teaspoon Cocoa Powder into a small sieve and dust all over the cream.

Finally, slice up and serve. This pavlova is really indulgent so a little goes a long way. And, honestly, I love coffee and meringues - I can't believe it's taken me this long to put the two together.

Full Written Recipe:


Cappuccino Pavlova

Adapted from BBC Food

Prep Time: 15 minutes approx.
Baking Time: 30 minutes
Cooling Time: 1 hour approx.
Serves: 6 people approx.

Ingredients

For the Coffee Meringue
125 grams Caster Sugar
2 teaspoons Ground Coffee (not granules)
2 large Egg Whites
Pinch of Salt
1 teaspoon Cornflour
½ teaspoon White Wine Vinegar (yes, it is Halal)

For the Topping
150 ml Double Cream
½ teaspoon Cocoa Powder

Method

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4 or 180C.
Line a baking tray with baking parchment.

To make the coffee meringue, mix the caster sugar and ground coffee together in a small bowl. Set aside.

Pour the egg whites into a mixing bowl and add the salt. Whisk with an electric whisk until soft peaks form.

With the machine still whisking, add 1 tablespoon of the sugar coffee mixture at a time, until it has all been added in.

Keep whisking until you have stiff, glossy peaks.
Lastly, fold in the cornflour and white wine vinegar.

Put the mixture onto the prepared tray and shape into a 9 inch circle. Keep the edges slightly higher than the middle.

Place the tray into the preheated oven and immediately turn the heat down to Gas Mark 3 or 150C.

Bake for 30 minutes until crisp and golden. Switch the oven off and leave to cool completely inside.

For the topping, whisk the double cream to soft peaks.

Transfer the cooled meringue to a serving plate, spread over the whipped cream and dust with the cocoa powder. Slice and serve!


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Keep me in your duas, please,

Wasalaam!


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