Light, crisp, and fudgy! This Chocolate Pavlova has a crunchy meringue shell with a marshmallow soft chocolate center. Serve with fresh raspberries and whipped cream.
Chocolate Pavlova is one of those desserts that looks dramatic, but requires almost zero stress. Perfect for holidays and guests, but easy enough for a weeknight dessert at home.
Aimee’s Recipe Notes
Taste & Texture: Rich chocolate flavor in a crispy merginue shell. Chewy, fudgy inside, topped with a light whipped cream and fresh berries.
Ease to Make. Surprisingly easy. The mixer does the work. The hardest part is being patient and not opening the oven.
Top Tip: Egg whites whip best at room temerature in a bowl completely free of grease or water.
Storage: Keep chocolate pavlova at room temperature for several days. If you’ve already added the topping, store in the refrigerator for two days.
Chocolate Pavlova Ingredients
For a complete list of ingredients and measurements, scroll down to the recipe card below.
- Egg Whites- these are the base of any pavlova recipe. Be sure to allow them to come to room temperature.
- White Vinegar & Cornstarch- This duo helps stabilize the meringue. The vinegar helps the egg whites whip strong, while the cornstarch creates the chewy marshmallow center.
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder- gives the pavlova it’s chocolate depth without adding heaviness.
How to Make Chocolate Pavlova
Whip the egg whites.
- Beat egg whites until frothy. Add in vinegar and cornstarch.
- Continue beating while slowly streaming in sugar, cocoa powder, and vanilla. Beat until stiff peaks.
Shape and bake.
- Once stiff peaks have been achieved, shape mxiture in an 8-9 inche circle on parchment paper.
- Create a shallow well in the center and bake. Keep the oven door closed!
Tips and Tricks
- No yolks allowed. If any yolk gets into the whites, the meringue will not whip. Save those yolks to make my easy drop sugar cookies or lemon curd.
- Don’t rush the cooling. The slow cooldown prevents cracking and collapsing of the pavlova. Keep the oven door closed.
- Add toppings right before serving so the meringue stays crisp.
- Humidity is the enemy to meringue. I keep my untopped pavlova in my oven (turned off) to maintain that crunchy shell.
Easy Dessert Recipes
Pin this now to find it later
Pin It
Chocolate Pavlova Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 large egg whites, room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups whipped cream, for the topping
- 6 ounces fresh raspberries
- 1 ounce semi-sweet chocolate bar, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.
- In a clean, dry mixing bowl, beat egg whites with whisk attachment for 30 seconds, until frothy.
- Add in vinegar and cornstarch and beat on medium high speed for one minute. While beating, slowly add in granulated sugar and unsweetened cocoa powder. Also add in the vanilla extract.
- Beat meringue for 3-4 minutes until stiff peaks form.
- Spoon meringue onto parchment paper and form an 8-9 inch circle. Use an offset spatula to smooth the edges and form a divet in the center while making the sides of the pavlova higher.
- Put the cookie sheet in the oven and immediately turn the temperature down to 200 degrees F. Bake for 80 minutes. DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN.
- When cooking time ends, keep the pavlova in the oven and turn off the oven. Allow it to cool for 4 hours, or longer, until ready to serve.
- When ready to serve, top pavlova with whipped cream, fresh berries, and chopped chocolate. Slice and serve.
Notes
- Homemade whipped cream or an 8 ounce container of thawed Cool Whip can be used for topping.
- Storage- keep pavlova in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days (or keep it in the oven turned off to keep the humidity away).
- See blog post for more tips and tricks.
