Chocolate Pavlova With Chocolate Mousse

Updated June 18, 2025

Chocolate Pavlova With Chocolate Mousse
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Total Time
4 hours
Rating
5(611)
Comments
Read comments

Most Pavlovas are white and fluffy nests filled with whipped cream and fruit. This is a dark and fudgy reinterpretation, with cocoa powder in the meringue and bittersweet chocolate in the mousse on top. What was once billowing and light becomes rich and intense. Because the cocoa powder has a small amount of fat in it, the meringue here will not hold its shape as well as a regular pavlova. So there’s no need to pipe out any fancy designs, which will melt in the oven. Instead, decorate the top with fresh berries or chocolate shavings to create a showstopper of a dessert. You can make the meringue and mousse a day ahead, but don’t assemble the dessert until just before serving.

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Ingredients

Yield:8 servings

    For the Pavlova

    • 6egg whites, at room temperature (save the yolks for the mousse)
    • cups/300 grams granulated sugar
    • teaspoon cream of tartar
    • Pinch of fine sea salt
    • ¼cup/28 grams unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted

    For the Mousse

    • 3cups/710 milliliters heavy cream
    • 6egg yolks
    • 6tablespoons/70 grams granulated sugar
    • Pinch of fine sea salt
    • 12ounces/340 grams bittersweet chocolate, chopped, melted and cooled
    • 1teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 1tablespoon rum

    For Serving

    • 1cup crème fraîche, lightly whipped
    • Fresh berries or chocolate shavings (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

799 calories; 54 grams fat; 32 grams saturated fat; 1 gram trans fat; 15 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 80 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 73 grams sugars; 9 grams protein; 113 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Make the Pavlova: Heat oven to 250 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and draw an 8-inch circle in the middle, then flip the paper upside down. You should still be able to see the outline.

  2. Step 2

    Mix egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar and salt in a mixing bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk constantly until sugar dissolves and mixture is warm, 3 to 5 minutes.

  3. Step 3

    Remove from heat and, using an electric mixer, beat with the whisk attachment on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, about 5 to 7 minutes.

  4. Step 4

    Gently sift cocoa powder over the egg whites, then use a rubber spatula to fold the cocoa into the whites until just combined. A few cocoa streaks are O.K. and in fact better than overmixing, which can deflate the meringue.

  5. Step 5

    Spoon half the meringue mixture onto the circle on the parchment paper to form a round, spreading it all the way to the edges. Dollop remaining meringue around the outer edges on top of the circle, creating a nest to hold the filling.

  6. Step 6

    Bake for 2 hours, or until dry and firm to the touch. Turn off the oven and allow the Pavlova to cool in the oven 1 hour. Remove from oven and, if necessary, continue to cool to room temperature.

  7. Step 7

    Make the mousse: In a medium saucepan, whisk together 1¼ cups/295 milliliters cream, the yolks, 3 tablespoons/35 grams sugar and the salt. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture coats the back of a spoon, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and pass through a fine-mesh strainer into a large bowl. Whisk in melted chocolate, vanilla and rum. Chill until cold, at least 2 hours.

  8. Step 8

    Using an electric mixer, whisk together the remaining 1¾ cups/415 milliliters cream with remaining 3 tablespoons/35 grams sugar until firm peaks form. Stir ⅓ of the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture to lighten it, then gently fold in the remaining cream. Refrigerate, covered, at least 30 minutes or up to 3 days.

  9. Step 9

    Just before serving, spoon mousse into the center of the cooled Pavlova, then top with crème fraîche. Top with fresh berries or chocolate shavings if desired.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
611 user ratings
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Comments

My best success with this fabulous dessert was by using super fine caster sugar in the meringue.

Would Hershey's cocoa unsweetened versus Hershey's cocoa special dark blend with 100% Cacao unsweetened and Dutch processed? Which one would be a better fit for the recipe?

I made this for a fundraiser and it was gone in less than 10 minutes. One person said that it was worth coming just for the pavlova. Noting the comments about the sauce not thickening, I used a different recipe that I have used before and is identical EXCEPT that it uses 4 tablespoons of butter instead of 5 and adds 1/4 to 1/2 tsps of cinnamon. It comes together perfectly every time.

I left the meringue overnight in the cooling oven and the melted chocolate covered but at room temperature. I had no difficulty completing the mousse the next AM and putting it on the room temp meringue and refrigerating the completed recipe. I added fresh raspberries and crème fraische as made from the cake bible before serving. It was my birthday “cake” and was luscious. As per others’ suggestions I decreased the mousse recipe by 1/3 and felt it was plenty generous.

Wow, delicious! I reduced the recipe by a third, which is a manageable size. I could not find bittersweet chocolate so used semi-sweet. Following the comments of others, I reduced the sugar in the mousse by almost a third, replaced the rum with espresso, and chilled the chocolate mixture for only an hour, until it was cool but not solid, and had no trouble mixing in the whipped cream. Served with berries and creme fraiche. It was astonishingly good.

Made a heart shaped pav for Valentine’s Day. I had a bunch of frozen egg whites so I didn’t want to use yolks. Instead of making mousse, I topped it with white chocolate whipped cream with a big scoop of sour cream whipped in, and then strawberry puree spiked with a splash of dark balsamic vinegar (the fresh strawbs were looking quite sad so I used frozen). Oh man - it was sensational. Such a fun variation on the classic and my 4-year requested we make this every V-Day.

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