Nigella Lawson’s cappuccino pavlova

Tis the season for making things that extra bit special, and this dessert certainly fits that description. A pavlova always looks so impressive even though they are relatively simple things to make. Although I’m aware not everybody thinks they are. This reminded me of a pavlova crossed with a tiramisu, I just loved the subtle coffee flavour and the sticky chewy soft meringue, heaped with cream and mascarpone. Ok in the lead up to Christmas it’s perhaps not the best idea to be eating desserts like this. But on Sunday I was in the mood to make something nice and I haven’t been feeling like that too much of late. 

It’s a recipe from the Nigellissima cookbook, Nigella makes one large pavlova but my sister in law gave me the idea to make it in two circles. Don’t worrying about it cracking, a good sprinkling of cocoa can hide any damage. 

Yesterday I made my no fuss Christmas cake, so don’t think it’s too late to make a cake if you haven’t already this year. This one is not called fuss free for nothing. It literally took 20 mins to prepare after the fruit had been soaked over night. It doesn’t need to be made a long time in advance and doesn’t need feeding and maturing. See the above link for the recipe. 



INGREDIENTS
Serves: 8-10
250G caster sugar
4 teaspoons instant espresso powder (not instant coffee granules)
4 large egg whites
1 pinch of salt
2 teaspoons cornflour
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
300MLdouble cream
1 teaspoon cocoa powder

METHOD
Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Line a flat oven sheet with baking parchment and, using a 23cm/9inch cake tin, draw a circle on it.

Mix the sugar with the instant espresso powder in a small bowl and set aside.
In a clean, grease-free metal bowl whisk the egg whites and salt until they are holding soft peaks. Keep whisking while you add the sugar-coffee mixture a tablespoon at a time.
When you have a firm, ecru-coloured meringue, fold in the cornflour and vinegar using a grease-free metal spoon.
Dollop the meringue mixture inside the drawn circle. Smooth and shape it with a spatula so that it looks rather like the crown of a boater: it must be flat on top.
Put it in the oven and immediately turn down to 150°C and cook for an hour. Switch off the oven and leave inside until cool.
Once the base is cool, lift it carefully in its paper and place it top-side down on a flat plate and peel off the paper.
Whip the double cream until thick but soft and spread delicately over the top of the meringue. With a teaspoon, push the cocoa through a fine sieve or tea strainer and spinkle on top of the pavlova like a cappuccino.