Even though its not quite spring yet, im getting ready for all the summery warm treats! I made this special kind of pavlova with hazelnuts in which I bake on top of a raw brownie base in the oven together. And because I’m always that little bit ‘extra’ in my baking, I decided to make two layers, and then fill it will mascarpone cream and fresh forest berries!

Here’s how you make it!

INGREDIENTS:

Brownie Base –

• • 150 g unsalted butter, cut into large pieces
• • 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• • 1 1/2 cups sugar
• • 3 large eggs
• • 1/4 cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder
• • 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• • 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, sifted

Pavlova Meringue top –

• 4 egg whites
• 200g sugar
• 100g hazelnuts, chopped

Filling: 

• 300ml cream (whipped, and cooling in the fridge)
• 100g icing sugar
• 150g mascarpone cream cheese
• 100g raspberries
• 100g strawberries, sliced in quarters
• 100g blackberries

METHOD:

Brownie Base:

1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees. Line 2 6-inch round baking pan with parchment paper, leaving a slight overhang on all sides. Melt butter and chocolate in a double boiler or a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat, and whisk in sugar. Whisk in eggs, one at a time, until combined. Whisk in cocoa and salt. Fold in flour until combined.
2. Pour batter into 2 round 6 inch pans. Set in the fridge until stiff, roughly 20 min. Then bake for 20-25 min until set and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out with moist crumbs. Let cool completely, placing it in the fridge will help speed things up, and taste just as amazing! While cooling, make your hazelnut pavlova meringue base.

Hazelnut Pavlova Meringue Base:

1. Whisk the egg whites in a bowl with a stand mixer, or an electric hand mixer, until soft peaks form when the whisk is removed. Slowly whisk the sugar until smooth and glossy, then fold in the chopped hazelnuts.
2. Spoon the meringue topping onto the cooked brownie base.  I used a palette knife to smooth the meringue mixture on top of the brownie base. You can make peaks on one of the brownie base pans, if you want a little extra wow 😉
3. Return the cakes into the oven for a further 30 minutes, or until the meringue is golden-brown. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool. Carefully remove the cakes from the tin and set aside to cool completely on a wire rack.

For the Filling:

1. Take you whipped cream out of the fridge and in a medium sized bowl, add in the icing sugar and mascarpone cheese, mix with a whisk or hand held electric mixer. Once all well combined, spoon onto the cooled cakes, making sure you get a little more on the top layer.
2. Place your berries on both layer, and then take your top layer and place on top of the bottom layer. And Voila! Your ready to enjoy this feast!

Enjoy!