Why Did My Chocolate Raspberry Pavlova Meringue Flatten When I Baked It?

Our answer

Nigella's Chocolate Raspberry Pavlova (from NIGELLA SUMMER) has a meringue that includes cocoa powder and finely chopped chocolate. The addition of these two ingredients means that the meringue has a slightly different texture to a regular meringue and is slightly denser and more brownie-like and the chocolate meringue disc itself may not be quite as thick as a regular pavlova meringue.

If the meringue is a lot flatter after baking then it is possible that the egg whites were whisked too much. The extra air expands in the oven and can overstretch the cells of whisked egg white, causing them to break and the meringue to collapse. Whisk the egg whites until they reach peaks where the tip just flops over, then beat in the sugar a spoonful at a time. Once the first few spoonfuls of sugar have been added the meringue stabilises and then it is much more difficult to over whisk. Also if you beat egg whites too quickly it can result in large, uneven air bubbles, which can also cause the pavlova to collapse. This can particularly happen if you are using a high-powered stand mixer. Start whisking the whites on a low speed until they are frothy then gradually increase the speed and whisk the whites to floppy peaks.