We all know that Dr. Pavlov, with his multitudes of salivating mutts, has very little to do with a sweet Pavlova dessert, besides a similarity in surnames…but this dessert was so scrumptios it had me salivating, bells or not!

The Pavlova is one of those desserts that is only read about in novels set in the turn of the 20th century. Clarice, the young traveller, gazed across the linen table cloth with a longing desperation at Antonio, who firmly grasped his silver spoon, and with utter obliviousness to the torrent of thoughts in Clarice’s head, plunged it into crisp Pavlova, adorned with stiff whipped cream, and mounds of fresh berries. You get what I mean. And I guess it must be fairly clear that I don’t read much from the early 20th century. But with the first of the spring berries showing their rosy faces at the market, I felt the need to celebrate. So I made a chocolate Pavlova with this recipe from The Joy of Baking.

Relatively simple to make (if you can make meringues, you can make a Pavlova), and impressive when presented to a table full of hungry guests, this dessert however does require fairly strong nerves from the cook. Meant to have a crisp and crackly outer shell, with a sweet and marshmallow-like interior, picking the meringue shell up from the baking rack and placing it onto a serving dish, all in one piece, poses a bit of a shattering problem. But never fear, a Pavlova isn’t truly a Pavlova unless it is first mounded with cool whipped cream. And whipped cream can hide a multitude of sins.

I modified this recipe slightly, adding less cocoa powder, and omitting the chopped chocolate entirely, because I wanted the dessert to only be tinged with chocolate. The concoction was ideal; the crunch of the shell and the delicacy of the interior contrasted with the richness of the strawberries and cream. Yum!

Now if only Clarice and Antonio were here to enjoy it with me…