Phenomenal Phoods

Nutella Pavlova

Ingredients:

For the pavlova:

• 4 egg whites
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice (can replace with another acid like white vinegar or 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar)
• 1 cup superfine sugar
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch

For the nutella whipped cream:

• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 cup nutella

For the toppings:

• 1 banana
• 1 chocolate hazelnut bar (I used Ritter's Sport chocolate with whole hazelnuts)

Instructions:

For the pavlova:

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees F and draw a 9 inch circle on a piece of parchment paper (I traced a cake pan). Flip the paper so you aren't putting the pavlova on top of your pencil line.
2. Beat egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment until foamy.
3. Add the vanilla and lemon juice and continue to beat on medium-high until soft peaks form.
4. Combine the sugar and cornstarch and then add slowly to the egg whites while the mixer is on low.
5. Continue to beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. You should be able to turn the bowl upside down.
6. Spoon the pavlova mixture onto your parchment paper and use a spoon or spatula to smooth into the circle that you drew. Make a slight indent in the center to hold the topping.
7. Bake at 200 degrees F. for 90 minutes until the pavlova is firm and dry. Turn off the oven and leave to cool in the oven for at least an hour. Remove and finish cooling on a cooling rack before topping.

For the nutella whipped cream:

1. Beat the heavy cream until stiff peaks form, being careful not to overbeat or curdle the cream.
2. Fold in the nutella until smooth. Spoon on top of the cooled pavlova and spread so it covers the whole thing.

For the toppings:

1. Slice the banana on a diagonal and arrange on top of the nutella whipped cream. If you are not going to eat it that same day, you can soak the banana slides in soda water for a while before using to prevent browning.
2. Use a food processor or a knife to roughly chop up the hazelnut chocolate bar. As an alternative, you could just use hazelnuts or any nut really. This just adds some nice texture to the pavlova.
3. Sprinkle over the pavlova and serve!