I’ve never heard the word “pavlova” more than in the past month. It’s not a dessert that gets a lot of attention, but for some reason I’ve been seeing it everywhere: At parties we’ve gone to, on the Food Network, and even on one of my favorite blogs. Since it’s a naturally gluten-free dessert, I wanted to get in on the action and make my own.

The only part of the recipe that really ever changes is the base; everyone seems to make their meringue different. I like using powdered sugar for a sweeter and pure white meringue, with a little bit of cream of tartar to help it stay up. I also choose to let it “cook” overnight in a hot oven to get the best texture. When it’s done, the outside should be hard and crispy while the inside meringue is soft like a marshmallow.

The fun thing about this dessert is you can dress the meringue any way. Whip regular cream instead of coconut milk for a more traditional dessert. You can serve it with any fresh fruit that’s on hand or even use a fruit sauce.

Cherry Coconut Pavlova

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 12 hours(overnight)

Ingredients(Makes 3-4 servings):

• 2 egg whites
• 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
• 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/2 cup coconut cream*
• 1/2 cup pitted and halved cherries

*To get coconut cream, leave a can of full-fat coconut milk undisturbed in the pantry for a few days. Open it without shaking the can. The cream will be separated on the top from the coconut water, a clear liquid that you can save and use as a sports drink.

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Whip the egg whites in a glass bowl slowly adding the powdered sugar and cream of tartar until it forms soft peaks.
3. Pour the meringue in a mound on a non-stick baking tray. Swirl a utensil on the top of the meringue for an artful effect.
4. Put the meringue in the oven and immediately turn off the oven. Do not open the oven door. Let the meringue sit undisturbed in the hot oven overnight.
5. When the meringue is ready, whip the coconut milk in a chilled glass bowl until it forms stiff peaks.
6. Spread the whipped coconut milk on top of the meringue and garnish with the cherry halves. Serve immediately.

This dessert definitely stops being pretty once you cut into it. That’s ok; it’s delicious enough that no one will notice. The best bites are the ones where you get a little of everything: The sweet meringue, the rich topping, and the tart cherries.

This recipe comes almost 4 months in the making. I needed a lot of time and a big celebration to make it for so New Years fit the bill. It’s also my submission for the Scharffen Berger elevated classic recipe contest.

The point of the contest is to take a classic dessert and elevate it with chocolate. My favorite chocolate dessert has always been flourless chocolate cake, which has been made in my family for years with the same recipe. It’s certainly a good recipe, but not the best.

To elevate it, I added a raspberry fudge sauce and topped the whole thing with a coconut milk mousse, all made with Scharffen Berger chocolate. I love the combination of the dense cake with the airy mousse and the tartness of the raspberries between the two sweet layers. Technically it was probably one of the hardest desserts I’ve made; I’ve never successfully separated and tempered yolks before now. Needless to say I was very happy on New Years Eve when the cake turned out as well as I planned.

Flourless Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Fudge Sauce and Coconut Milk Chocolate Mousse

For the cake:

• 4oz room temperature butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 6 medium room temperature eggs
• 1 9.7oz 70% Scharffen Berger baking chocolate

For the sauce:

• 8oz raspberries
• 2oz 62% Scharffen Berger baking chocolate
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 Tablespoons Scharffen Berger unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 Tablespoons liquid sweetener

For the mousse:

• 3/4 cup coconut cream*
• 1/4 coconut water*
• 6oz 62% Scharffen Berger chocolate
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 egg whites
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar

*To get coconut cream, leave a can of coconut milk undisturbed for a week or so. When you open it, the water should have separated from the thicker part, the cream. Just be careful not to mix the two together and you should be able to scrape the cream off the top easily.

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Beat together the butter and sugar, adding in eggs one at a time until all of them are incorporated. The batter should be smooth and ribbony.
3. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or microwave.
4. Slowly temper the melted chocolate into the batter until it’s completely mixed in.
5. Grease a 9-inch cake pan and pour the batter in.
6. Bake for 40 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
7. Remove the cake and let it sit undisturbed until it cools to room temperature. It should deflate as it cools. Don’t worry if the top cracks since it will get covered eventually.
8. While the cake cools, make the sauce by bringing all of the ingredients together to a boil in a small sauce pot.
9. Mix the contents of the pot until the chocolate has melted and the sauce is uniform in color.
10. Pour the sauce over the cake. Let it cool completely and then refrigerate to chill.
11. While the sauce sets, make the mousse by bringing to a light boil the coconut cream and water in a sauce pot. Chop the chocolate and add it in, mixing off of the heat until the chocolate has melted.
12. Beat together the 3 egg yolks. Temper them by adding a little of the chocolate coconut mixture in as you beat. Once the yolks have been tempered you can mix them into the pot along with the salt. Keep the pot off of the heat stirring occasionally to prevent fit rom getting a film.
13. Beat the egg whites while sifting in the powdered sugar until light peaks form like you’re making a meringue.
14. Carefully fold the egg whites and chocolate coconut mixture together in a large bowl until it’s all mixed. Be careful not to over-mix the mousse and deflate the egg whites; fold just enough until it’s all the same color.
15. Put the mousse into the refrigerator until it’s set, about 3-4 hours.
16. Once the mousse has set, carefully scoop it on top of the cake. Spread it out into one layer as if it were a frosting. Using a piece of saran wrap to push down for a flat surface is an easy way to do this.
17. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve. Remove from the refrigerator for about 15 minutes before cutting and eating.

It was a lot of work but completely worth it. Everybody loved the cake. And I think the mousse would be a great and impressive dessert to make on its own for another occasion.

These are about as rich and decadent as a cup of coconut milk can make anything to be. When these first came out of the oven, I weren’t sure if they were technically a cake or a blondie. It turns out the difference(very unscientifically) lies in the ratio of fat and sugar to flour. Since these are full of fat and sugar(and taste delicious in case that’s not a clue), I feel pretty comfortable calling them blondies. Also, a cake needs frosting I feel and these just melt in your mouth all their own.

Coconut Blondies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1/4 cup safflower/canola oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour(I used Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free flour)
• 1/2 coconut shreds
• 1/3 cup white chocolate chips(optional)
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8×8 pan.

Mix together the coconut milk, oil, eggs, sugar, and extract until the eggs are just beaten in.

Sift in the flour and baking soda and mix until it has just come together. The batter should be pretty loose.

Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 40-45 minutes or until the center of the cake has cooked through.

I would definitely make this again in a heartbeat, except I might have to double the recipe next time and add toasted hazelnuts. The coconut flavor is just strong enough to notice but the vanilla keeps it from taking over.

Did I mention I really love them? I think I’ll have another.