Happy December! It’s the first of the month, and you know what that means: It’s time for a new recipe! And this month Shilpa has developed something super special to mark the holiday season: a big, billowy meringue topped with whipped cream, boozy cherries, chocolate ganache, and plenty of chocolate curls. If that sounds a bit excessive, it is—in the best way possible.
The pavlova is inspired by Black Forest cake, a Bavarian dessert that was an early predecessor for the term “viral pastry.” Black Forest Cake, defined by its layers (chocolate cake, cream, cherries, and kirsch, a cherry brandy), spread far beyond its woodland origins to countries like India, Fiji, the Philippines, and the Caribbean Islands where it is the cake of choice for many a celebration.
This recipe recreates that flavor profile and reimagines it into a crisp-yet-marshmallowy pavlova topped with all the goodies. But as simple as the ingredient list is for pavlova, getting one right can be challenging. Pavlovas are prone to crack, weep, or turn soggy and overly chewy. The key, which Shilpa locked in during testing, is in the ratio of sugar to egg whites: Twice the amount of sugar to egg whites (by weight, of course) gives you a sturdy, crisp, snow-white pavlova that is consistently beautiful.
You can grab the recipe here. As always, if you have any questions, send us a message via our Substack chat and one of us will get back to you ASAP. Happy baking! —Jesse Szewczyk and Shilpa Uskokovic
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