The Teen woke up late on a Saturday morning. And while we had all just enjoyed the luscious and fruit laden pavlova with strawberries and oranges the night before, she decided to create her own pavlova. And yes, this was the first thing she ate that day, hence it was christened a “Breakfast Pavlova”. But it would have been great for a lunch or dinner dessert dish. We eat relatively balanced meals in our household, so I have to say this experiment was slightly off the grid. But it was wickedly good. :)
The teen used the second pavlova base leftover from the day before. We had stored the meringue uncovered inside the oven, and surprisingly, it remained crisp. Into the “well” of the meringue, she placed about a cup of freshly made but cooled chocolate ganache… 70% Valrhona dark chocolate with cream that was incredibly heady with chocolate flavor, and rich from the cream, but nearly bitter without a hint of sugar.
We had no real whipping cream in the house so she improvised and sprayed instant whipping cream over the ganache base.
She then crumbled up two generous slices of homemade brownies (softened in the microwave) and sprinkled this over the whipped cream. Onto that she drizzled more chocolate ganache and insisted that her half of the pavlova was done. Adults could and did add chopped freshly roasted cashew nuts for crunch and added flavor…
So was this just some tooth-numbing folly of a dessert? Not. The meringue was crispy chewy and a great vessel for the nearly bitter but incredibly flavorful ganache. The cream added texture and cut the intensity of the chocolate. The brownies gave texture and sweetness without being cloyingly sweet. And the drizzled ganache took this up a notch. The adult version with nuts was great, but the Teen swears the no-nuts version was better. :) I only had one big fat generous spoon full of this pavlova but it was terrific. With a cup of coffee or tea, a match made in heaven. Isn’t it great when you can eat whatever you want for breakfast every so often? :)
21 Responses
“Isn’t it great when you can eat whatever you want for breakfast every so often? :)”
Especially when it’s a surprise prepared by someone dear to you. That does look delicious, any time of day.
That looks delicious!!!
Once you start using really good quality chocolate, you can’t go back to Hershey’s.
Now, thats what I call Breakfast!!!! ;-). As Chef Jacques Torres once said to me…”Eat Dessert First!!”
Oh my gosh! That looks wicked!
“I only had one big fat generous spoon full of this pavlova but it was terrific.”
With a breakfast like this, one big fat generous spoon full is enough for me, thank you. I’m sure it’s delicious but it’s too chocolate-y for my taste. I’ll take the fruit laden pavlova anytime, though :)
I am going to copy this ‘breakfast pavlova’ :-) I am so bored of very traditional pavlova which is with topping of whipped cream and kiwi fruit/strawberries or sliced of mango. The teen’s version is innovative and new for me :-)
i’d make a mini-mini version of that…that looks super good!!! that’s keep me running all day!!
the 70% dark chocs made me drool.. just finished Godiva’s 72% dark chocs and I was in Godiva heaven during that time… miss it soo much.. can you tell me where to get good dark chocolates locally?? would there be a local brand that can match up? tried Goya’s dark, it was okay for 17 pesos.. :)
whoa! the teen certainly inherited all the foodie genes!
yes, everybody should be able to choose his/her breakfast with no rules at all!
Some sliced bananas on top would be great. No, they don’t like nuts either (my kids).
Genius! I never thought of this. 3 of my fave comfort food, dark choco, meringue, and brownies. Wicked!!!
mmm that looks great. wouldn’t it be great to be a teenager and eat whatever you want again?
the chocolate pavlova looks great. will try making this soon. ah to be young and able to eat whatever you can, even sinful desserts for breakfast! now its once on your lips, forever on your hips for me
Being consumed by the idea of so much chocolate… ahhhh. Is too much chocolate even possible? (Yes, if you’re on a diet :P)
A combination of perfect ingredients made this perfect for me. And yes, maybe bananas, nuts, and, a huge scoop of vanilla ice cream :D
Uber yum! OVERLOAD!
too bad too much chocolate gives me hives (yes, i am allergic to chocolates, but that doesn’t stop me! bwahahah!). mental note: always carry anti-histamine.
this for breakfast? my oh my… good thing it wasn’t too sweet, sugar rush the whole morning! maayo dili maka-bidli ang katam-is. :)
You have a very creative teen, Market Man! You must be very proud of her. :)
A quick question, where were you able to find 70% valrhona? I checked out Bacchus Epicerie in Rockwell and they only have 60%. Thanks!
Now THAT’s a pavlova hehe! Yep, always loved breakfast, but then I love lunch too.. and I can’t forget dinner! I just love to eat “period”. :)
Sinful! =)
The Teen: “Dad, let me show you how to make a REAL pavlova.”
@The Teen, how about a “chocolate pavlova”? Next time, try adding cocoa powder (together with the sugar) to the meringue before baking ;-)
haaaaaaayyyyyyy