Coffee & Walnut Pavlova

INGREDIENTS

6 egg whites
300g caster sugar
1 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract
250g mascarpone
100g icing sugar
600 ml double cream
Pinch of salt
¼ cup boiling water
5 tbsp ground coffee
100g Supreme Walnuts, roughly chopped
Cocoa powder

METHOD

Preheat oven to 150°c. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment and draw a 9 inch circle on the parchment. In a large bowl, beat egg whites until stiff. Gradually add in the sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat until thick and glossy. (Don’t over beat the egg whites or it will lose volume and deflate). Gently fold in vanilla extract, salt and white vinegar. Spoon the mixture inside the circle drawn on the parchment. Working from the centre, spread the mixture towards the outside edge creating a crater in the middle. Bake for 1 hour then turn off the oven and slightly open the door and let the pavlova cool completely inside the oven. Make the coffee cream: add ground coffee to a bowl and pour over ¼ cup of boiling water and set aside to steep. In the meantime add mascarpone and icing sugar into a large bowl and whisk with an electric whisk until soft. Add double cream, salt and steeped coffee (including the ground coffee) and whisk until you have a well combined, smooth and spreadable consistency. Remove the parchment, and place meringue on a flat serving plate. Top with coffee cream and evenly spread it over the pavlova. Sprinkle over with chopped walnuts and dust with cocoa powder.