Neva Cooper Likes art politics science technology fashion music life and everything else

Pavlova topped with Nutella cream, Ferrero Rochers and shaved white chocolate

There are a few key words involved in this cake that stop me in my tracks.  One of them I just learned today.  Lets go through them slowly.

Nutella.  Spread of the gods.  If I had all the money in the world, I'd probably still eat Nutella.  Maybe there is some rich person version thats has less sugar or something, and I'd probably switch to that one because I want to eat as much as humanly possible... and there's a boatload of sugar in Nutella.  But yeah.  Nutella.  I'm sold when its in basically any recipe.

Ferrero Rochers.  I can honestly say these are my favorite candies.  Or at least candies you can get at a gas station.  Maybe I just love the process of eating them.  Wait, no, they are made up of nothing but things that I love.  I'm a big fan of de-shelling them of chocolate/nut coating with my teeth, breaking it in half, excavating the chocolate and nut inside and finishing off the perfectly clean shell last.

Pavlova.  This is new, but similar to something else I love.  Apparently its a traditional dessert in Russia and New Zealand (uh, how did that happen?) that is really similar to meringue, which is a little cloud of whipped eggy sugary goodness.

So, drumroll please, here is the cake and the recipe.  I will be trying it soon and reporting back.

Pavlova topped with Nutella cream, Ferrero Rochers and shaved white chocolate

And the recipe :

Ingredients

Pavlova

• 6 egg whites
• 1 ½ cups caster sugar
• 1 tsp cornflour
• 1 tsp white vinegar

Topping

• 300ml thickened cream
• ¼ cup of Nutella
• A box of Ferrero Rochers
• 1 Block of white chocolate (or topping of choice)

Process

1. Preheat your oven to 120C / 248F
2. Use a circular 20cm cake tin to trace a circle on a sheet of baking paper. Place paper, trace side-down, on an oven tray.
3. Use hot soapy water to wash you mixing bowl and beaters in order to make sure they are completely clean. Rinse and the dry well. Place egg whites into the bowl.
4. Beat on high until soft peaks form. With the mixer still on add 1 tbsp of caster sugar at a time to the egg whites, beating well in-between additions. After all the sugar is added, scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat for another 8 minutes, until the meringue is smooth and glossy. Test the mixture buy rubbing a small amount between your thumb and forefinger, if it is grainy mix for a bit longer.
5. Add cornflour and vinegar and beat until combined.
6. Spoon the meringue into the center of the baking paper and spread to the edge of the traced circle.
7. Place meringue into oven for approximately 1 ½ hours, or until the Pavlova has a nice dry and crisp shell.
8. Turn off the oven and leave to cool for about 2 hours with the door ajar.
9. To make the topping, place the thickened cream and Nutella into a bowl and beat until soft peaks form, make sure not to over-beat. Spoon mixture over the Pavlova.
10. Cut Ferrero Rochers in half and place on top of cream.
11. Scrape a knife along the back of the block of white chocolate in order to produce nicely curled shavings. Sprinkle on top.