Australia Day is one of my favourite occasions to bake for. It’s a great chance to get creative and have fun with some Aussie-inspired desserts. And we get a day off work too! In past years I’ve made Lamington Doughnuts and Pavlova Ice Cream, and this year I decided to combine these two classics into one epic dessert: the Lamington Pavlova. A messy but delicious hybrid that equals patriotic perfection! Yes it tastes as good as it looks. And yes, I had seconds. Actually, we all did 😉
I’ll tell you a little secret. I wasn’t a huge fan of either of these two desserts until I tried making them myself. Soggy pavlovas and cheap supermarket lamingtons are not good things! But imagine two layers of chocolate meringue, with whipped vanilla cream, an insane amount of fresh summer berries, chopped Bounty bars, coconut chips and a rich choc-coconut fudge sauce drizzled all over the top to serve. I loved the combination of different flavours and textures, and the way the rich sauce brought it all together.
I think it combines the main elements of the lamington and the pavlova perfectly. I think it’s a beautiful and impressive looking dessert to bring out at your Australia Day celebration this weekend. It found it a little bit messy to cut up and serve, but it tasted amazing. You could also make this as an Eton mess if you prefer the messy vibe.
Hope you all have a wonderful long weekend, and that the weather holds out for some long, lazy celebrations. If you’re having a party big or small, there’s heaps of food and styling ideas over here on my Pinterest board to inspire you!
Chocolate Pavlova (from Love Swah)
- 4 egg whites (room temp)
- 1 cup caster sugar
- 3 tsp cornflour
- 1 tsp white vinegar
- 3 tsp cocoa powder
Chocolate Coconut Fudge Sauce
- 185ml coconut cream
- 200g good quality dark chocolate, chopped
- 55g brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
To decorate
- 1 cup cream
- 2 tablespoons caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
- 1 punnet strawberries
- 1 punnet blueberries
- 1 punnet raspberries
- Pomegranate seeds
- Bounty (or other chocolate coconut bars), chopped
- Coconut chips
To make the pavlova, preheat oven to 150°C and line two baking trays with non-stick paper. Using an electric mixer, beat egg-whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar, beating well until the mixture is glossy and the sugar has dissolved. Add the cornflour, vinegar and cocoa powder and fold through. Spoon mixture into 2 18-20cm circles. Using a palette knife, shape into a circle with high sides. Place in the oven, reduce the heat to 120°C and cook for 45 minutes. Then turn the oven off and allow the meringues to completely cool in the oven (at least an hour – I left mine overnight).