My poor little girl is rather over protected by her Brothers and Myself and this week she had the unenviable task of bringing home her new boyfriend for dinner.
 
Even though we know she has grown up into a beautiful young woman, in our eyes she will always be our little girl. All week James & Stephen teased her about what they were going to do and say to the poor boy and Rosie was worried sick.
 
Well I planned a huge meal, boeuf bourguignon, tartiflette and the chocolate raspberry pavlova, no pressure for me or him, NOT, but it was a lovely evening, he is a lovely young man, who managed to hold his own amongst our manic and loud Family and was liked by all.
 
And the important part, he loved the food !!!
 
Boun appetito.

Serves 10 – 12
 
6 large free-range egg whites
300g caster sugar
3 tablespoons cocoa powder, sieved (I always use Green & Blacks)
1 teaspoon balsamic or red wine vinegar (I used red wine vinegar)
50g dark chocolate, finely chopped
 
For the topping
500ml double cream
500g raspberries
2 – 3 tablespoons coarsely grated dark chocolate
 
Preheat the oven to 180c, fan 160c, gas 4 and line a tray with baking paper.
 
Beat the egg whites until satiny peaks form, then beat in the sugar, a large spoonful at a time, until the meringue is stiff and shiny. Add the cocoa, vinegar and chopped chocolate, then gently fold until the cocoa is thoroughly mixed in.
 
Mound onto a lined baking sheet in a fat circle about 25cm in diameter, smoothing the sides and top.
 
Place in the oven, then immediately reduce the temperature to 150c, fan 130c, gas 2 and cook for 1 – 1 1/2 hours.
 
When the meringue is ready it should look crisp around the edges and sides, and be dry on top, but when you prod the centre you should feel the promise of squidginess.
 
Turn off the oven and open the door slightly, then let the chocolate meringue disc cool completely.
 
When you are ready to serve, lift on to a large, flat bottomed plate. This is the part I find tricky, I always break it and end up leaving it on the paper !!!!
 
Whisk the cream until thick but still soft (and you know me, I always have to add some icing sugar to sweeten it), pile in on top of the meringue, then scatter over the raspberries. Sprinkle over the grated chocolate to serve.
 
This is a lovely dessert, the crisp outside with chocolate gooey loveliness in the middle is out of this World and this will now be a firm favourite in our house, made for any excuse, the next one being Hubby’s DotBBQ.
 
Don’t feel tied to using just raspberries, any fruit you fancy will do and a nice winter alternative would be oranges.