Chocolate Brownie Raspberry Pavlova

Rich, creamy and ever so chocolately! This chewy pavlova tastes just like fudgey chocolate brownie encased in crispy, creamy meringue jeweled with fresh raspberries.

Indeed, I was a little unsure about trying out a recipe like this, and really didn't think it would be much of a success, however, Nigella proved me wrong again and it turned out to be a chewy triumph. I was amazed by the taste and would definitely make it again. I altered the recipe slightly, just to my taste but it's still Nigella's through and through. I originally found this recipe due to a spontaneous trip to Lotmead; Pick Your Own to gather some raspberries, but due to the rich crop we were also able to pick brilliant Runner Beans, fresh Corn on the Cob, and picked up some fresh Carrots for the rabbits :D If you would like the location or more information about Lotmead in Swindon go here; http://www.lotmead.co.uk/

In any case, lets crack on!

Ingredients;

• 6 Medium Egg Whites
• 300g Caster Sugar
• 3 tbsp Cocoa Powder, Sieved
• 1 tsp Balsamic Vinegar or Red Wine Vinegar
• 50g Dark Chocolate, finely chopped

For the Topping;

• 250ml Double Cream
• 250g Raspberries
• 3 tbsp Dark Chocolate, grated 

Nigella used double the cream shown, but I'm not one for overly creamy desserts, and found that 250g was plenty, of course it's personal preference so it's up to you ;)

Method;

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4 / 180'C / 350'F and line a baking tray using baking parchment. Beat the egg white, until the peaks are only just able to hold themselves but are still soft peaks then only a spoonful at a time, beat in the sugar. Be careful, it gets EVERYWHERE, and if that's on a recipe book, you'll never open those pages again. Believe me, I know :L. Keep adding until all the sugar is used and the mixture now has stiff peaks. Add the Cocoa, Vinegar, and Chopped Chocolate. Gently fold the mixture until everything is mixed in. Pile the mixture onto the baking tray in a large circle about 20-25cm across. Smooth over the top and place in the oven, then turn the temperature immediately  down to Gas Mark 2 / 150'C / 300' F and cook for about an hour and 10 mins. It should look crisp on top and in the center it should feel slightly squidgy. Open the oven door and switch it off, allowing the meringue to cool completely. 

Afterwards, whisk the cream until it's nice and thick, but don't go as far as to make it into butter, obviously. Transfer the Pavlova onto a large plate and pile the cream on top. Don't worry if it seems to have cracked in places, this is what should happen.  Add the fresh Raspberries onto and sprinkle the chocolate on top. Use a large spoon to grab yourself a chunk and Bon Appetit!

After  the egg-whites have been whisked and the sugar added

Sprinkling on the Cocoa powder

Gently fold in the ingredients, swirling the spoon around

The peaks should be quite stiff and hold by themselves

As Nigella says "mounding" on the mixture...

Mum was very adamant to show her new antique plate that she wanted the Pavlova on 

Smooth the surface down with a spoon

After cooking, the surface will looked cracked, this is what should happen, and you should be able to see some of the fudgyness inside

I whisked the cream in a jug, much less mess

You don't want the cream any thicker than this, or you'll have butter

Put dollops of the cream on top and smooth with a spoon then add the raspberries and chocolate

Enjoy, and Please Comment!!

Peach Pie with Lattice Crust

Alright, looking back at my previous posts, it would seem to me that the layout is rather difficult to understand, therefore to try and make things simpler and therefore less time consuming and effortless, I will put the ingredients and recipes first, and thendo the step-by-step of the more confusing parts :) Hope you enjoy this rather delicious and sumptuous dish. I certainly did! The filling is rich and creamy with the soft and beautiful peaches :D

First The Delicious Flaky Crust;

• 2-4 tbsp Ice Water
• 260g Plain Flour
• 2 tbsp Sugar
• 1 tsp Salt
• 113g Cold Unsalted Butter
• 100g Vegetable Shortening
• Egg Wash made using 1 egg yolk mixed with a tbsp of water

In a Bowl, mix together the sugar and salt and half the flour. Cut the cold butter into small pieces so that it can be easily incorporated. Using a wooden spoon, mash the butter into the mixture so that it is flattened and eventually becomes crumbly. Do this by adding just a piece at a time into the mixture until you've used all the butter. Next, do the same with the shortening, by cutting and mashing it into the mixture until it is all incorporated. You'll probably find that no matter how hard you try to crush all the mixture, there will be lumps. Just crush as many of these with your fingers as you can so that the mixture is as smooth as possible. 

Now add the rest of the flour and sprinkle with half the water. Use your hands to create the large doughball and squeeze it against the sides of the bowl so you have all the mixture. The dryer it is the better and its good to see crumbs in the bottom of the bowl. However, if the mixture is not forming the dough then add water, but just a drop a time as over-watering it is not good!

Refrigerate for about 30 mins. Afterwards, take out of the fridge and either place on a non-stick mat or a well floured surface. Cut the mixture in half and put in the fridge. Roll out the remaining piece into an oval shape, then flip over and roll the other way to create a circle. Keep flouring the mixture so it doesn't stick. Then is the tricky bit, after greasing the pie dish, flip it over into the dish. Make up any cracks or rips with other pieces of spare dough, and make it as even as possible. Remove excess from the edge of the dish and refrigerate again, while you make the filling. 

Cut the Butter into pieces about this large so that they can be easily mashed into the mixture










Using your spoon, crush the butter into the mixture. It time consuming, but well worth the effort as it will ensure the perfect flaky crust

The will make the mixture rather crumbly. The colder all the ingredients are, the better the crust quality will be

Roll it into a ball so the dough can be easily refrigerated

Roll the dough out, first into an oval, and then flip it over and do the same to make a circle

After flipping it into the dish, remove the excess on the edges and use it to patch up any problems, ready so that you can put the filling in

Okay, now for the Good bit, the creamy and delicious filling. I have to say that it was very difficult for me to stop tasting this. It is Awesome!!!

Peach Pie Filling;

• 3 tins of Tinned Sliced Peaches either in syrup or in juice
• 270g Sugar
• 5 tbsp Plain Flour
• 1/2 tsp Ground Nutmeg
• 3/4 tsp Vanilla Essence
• 3 tbsp Butter

First, drain the peaches well so that there is as little juice as possible left. Then cut the already Sliced peaches again lengthways and then again about 4 times to make small cubes of peaches. Into a large Saucepan put the peaches, sugar, flour and nutmeg and stir together gently. Let it rest for about 25 minutes in which time you should get a slightly peachy syrup. Then using a slotted spoon, move the peaches into another bowl and bring the liquid in the pan to a boil. Very quickly the mixture will thicken dramatically into a sugary glob. This is what you want. Stir in the peaches and cook on a lower temperature for about 2 minutes. 

Take the pan off the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla until the butter melts, then let it cool slightly. 

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 7 / 425'F / 220'C and take the cooled crust out of the fridge. Then pour the mixture, (which is Very difficult not just to eat on its own) into the pie crust. Take the remaining piece of pastry and roll out on a well floured surface. Roll out to about 4mm thick so it won't tear or break and place over the pie with 5 strips going one way, and 4 going the other. Then use the egg glaze from earlier to brush over the pie so when it cooks it will go a gorgeous golden brown. Pinch the edges of the strips to the base to seal the pastry. Bake at Gas Mark 7 / 425'F / 220'C for 10 minutes and then reduce the temperature to Gas Mark 4 / 350'F / 180'C and bake for another 25-35 minutes, until the crust is golden and the filling is starting to bubble. Wait for it to cool for 2 hours and Enjoy with Ice Cream or Cream!

Idea; With any leftover pastry, you can make 'cup-pies' with a little of the leftover filling if you like with small lattice crusts in a muffin tin

Drain the Peaches in a cullender and shake a few times to remove excess juice

Chop up the peaches so that they become small cubes of fruity gorgeousness

Put the ingredients into a large saucepan and mix together, as seen below

This will create a creamy sauce that is really really delicious

Using a slotted spoon, put the peaches into another bowl while you boil the liquid

Very Quickly, the sugar with form this peachy glaze which is very thick and very tempting

Add the butter and mix until it's all melted, this will liquify the mixture slightly

Pour the mixture into the pastry dish  and save some for later if you wish to make cup-pies

Use a sharp knife to cut the strips from the other half of the pastry, and use a palette knife to lift them from the surface, arranging the pieces over the pie. Remember that some pieces need to be longer than others

 ENJOY!

Here are some of the Cup-pies I made, they were very crumbly, but very good