Dark Chocolate Mini Pavlovas with Cherries and Hazelnut Liqueur

Have you ever had pavlovas?  They are super-elegant, but they are actually quite easy to make.  These would be perfect to serve as a grown-up dessert, and there are a couple shortcuts that make these mini pavlovas even easier.

Pavlovas are a meringue dessert with a very short ingredient list. 

They can be made as one pie-size dessert or, as in this case, as individual servings.  (Making these as smaller mini pavlovas also halved the baking time, so they can be made and enjoyed more quickly.)  

Topped with fresh whipped cream and hazelnut-liqueur-laced cherry filling, these become the loveliest dessert that you can share with grown-up-guests or the family.

I forgot how much I loved hazelnuts until I developed this recipe while on the Whole 30, and couldn’t taste a thing.  Except the hazelnuts.  And while I was toasting them, I checked to see if they were perfect, and with or without the dessert, they were. (Side note: When you do a “fast” from any kind of food for a period of time, I notice your tastebuds adapt and change, and things you forgot had great flavor seem to explode with it.  It almost made up for not being able to have any of this dish when it was made!)

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Dark Chocolate Mini Pavlovas with Cherries and Hazelnut Liqueur

Adding a grown-up twist to a premade pie filling, pavlovas are a deceptively simple dessert that is decidedly grown-up and elegant.

Servings: 8

Author: Angela Sackett | Everyday Welcome

Ingredients

Cherry Topping

• 1 21 ounce can cherry pie filling
• 3 tablespoons hazelnut liqueur

Whipped Cream

• 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon hazelnut extract or 1 tablespoon hazelnut liqueur
• 1 tablespoon superfine sugar

Pavlovas

• 4 egg whites
• ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
• ¼ cup dark brown sugar
• ¾ cups superfine sugar
• 2 tablespoons dark cocoa
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon hazelnut liqueur or 1 teaspoon hazelnut extract
• 4 ounces finely chopped or grated dark semi-sweet chocolate divided
• ½ cup chopped toasted hazelnuts

Tips:

Using a pre-made pie filling makes this dish come together so quickly.  If you prefer, make a naturally-sweetened pie filling; I haven’t tried this one, but it looks wonderful!

Inspiring {sweet and decadent} welcome,

Angela