Strawberry Chocolate Cream Cheese PAVLOVA


I´m a huge Pavlova fan, in South Africa (where I grew up and spent most of my life.. although I live in Spain now)...

Soy una gran fan de Pavlova, en Sudáfrica (donde crecí y pasé la mayor parte de mi vida.. aunque ahora vivo en España)...


...Xmas time is during summer and therefore a typical dessert during that time would be Pavlova.. Trifle.. etc  Just like with all my other desserts, I love adding a twist, so this time I added Cream Cheese to the traditional whipped cream topping.. Verdict? DEVINE! Love it.. :-)

 ... Las navidades es en verano y por lo tanto un típico postre durante el tiempo navideño es la Pavlova..Trifle.. etc. Como todos mis otros postres, me encanta darle una vuelta de tuerca, así que esta vez yo añadí queso cremoso a la crema batida que es tradicional.. ¿Veredicto? ¡DIVINO! Me encantó.. :-)
The assembling of the dessert was simply melting some rich dark chocolate and drizzling it over the cooled meringue base (as in the photo below), adding the whipped cream & cream cheese topping and to top it off some strawberries (I used canned) and then some more chocolate drizzled on the top.. y VOILA!

El montaje del postre fue simplemente derretir un poco de chocolate negro y poniendo algunas gotas de merengue frío (como en la foto de abajo), la adición de la nata batida y queso cremoso y poniendo algunas fresas (yo usé de lata) arriba y algo más de chocolate rociado en la parte superior .. y ¡voilá!


Herewith the RECIPE below..
Strawberry Chocolate Cream Cheese
PAVLOVA
¡clic aquí para ver la receta en Español!



Ingredients:
  • Meringue base (recipe 1 below)
  • 300g full cream cream cheese at room temperature
  • 200ml whipped cream (recipe 2 below)
  • 1/2 cup of sifted icing sugar
  • 100g of melted dark chocolate
  • 1 tin of strawberries (you can use fresh strawberries too)
1. MERINGUE:
Ingredients:
  • 1 packet of strawberry jelly/jell-o
  • ¼ cup of white granulated sugar
  • 3 L egg whites (room temperature)
  • pinch of salt
  • pinch of cream of tartar
  • ¼ teaspoon of vanilla essence
Method:
  • Pre-heat your oven to 90ºC. Pre-line your baking tray with wax paper. Mix your jelly and white sugar together. Whip your egg whites on medium speed until it starts to foam, then add your salt and cream of tartar, increase the speed of your beater to medium high and slowly add your sugar & jelly mix. Continue to beat on high until the mixture is thick & glossy. This takes about 5 minutes.
  • Scoop half of the mixture in the centre of your pre-prepared tray in a circle form (as big as you want).  
  • Bake for 2-3 hours (this depends on humidity) until hard to the touch. Leave in the switched-off oven overnight.
  • You can use the other half for meringue kisses or you could make another pavlova base and store in an airtight container for later use. As long as it is kept cool & dry it could last for weeks.
2. WHIPPED CREAM:
Ingredients:
  • 200ml chilled cream (suitable for whipping)
  • 2 tablespoons granulated white sugar
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla essence
Method:
  • Ensure your bowl is clean and grease free. Whip your chilled cream on medium speed until it starts to bubble, at this stage increase your speed, beat a little more just before the soft peak stage and slowly add the sugar. Now add the vanilla & continue to whip until firm.
ASSEMBLY:
Whip the cream cheese until soft with the sifted icing sugar and gently fold into your whipped cream.  Leave in fridge to cool. Drizzle the melted chocolate over your dry and cooled meringue base. Now coop the cooled cream cheese mixture onto your meringue base. Top with strawberries and drizzle with more melted chocolate.  Serve IMMEDIATELY! If not your Pavlova will be soggy :-(



I hope you all have an amazing weekend.. I have a jam packed one ahead of me and although I like being out and about I sometimes yearn for more peaceful, relaxing days ;.)

Espero que todos ustedes tengan un fin de semana increíble .. Tengo uno repleto delante de mí, y aunque me gusta estar fuera de casa a veces deseo algo más tranquilo, días relajados ;.)