Should I Reduce The Baking Time For A Smaller Chocolate Raspberry Pavlova?

Our answer

Nigella's Chocolate Raspberry Pavlova (from NIGELLA SUMMER has a chocolate-studded meringue base that is almost brownie-like. The original recipe uses 6 egg whites and makes a meringue disc about 23cm/9 inches in diameter.

It is fairly easy to halve the quantities of all of the ingredients and we suggest that you make the meringue disc about 15-16cm/6-6 1/2 inches in diameter, so that it is a similar thickness to the full-sized pavlova. The oven temperature should remain the same, i.e. you heat the oven to 180c/160c fan/350F and then turn down to 150c/130c/300F as soon as you put the meringue into the oven. You need to bake the meringue until it is crisp around the edges and on the sides and feels dry on top, but when you gently prod the centre it should still feel slightly squidgy (though not liquid). We estimate this should take about 45-55 minutes, so check after 45 minutes and if the outside of the meringue is still soft or sticky then bake for a further 10 minutes and check again, repeating as necessary. When the meringue has baked, turn off the oven and leave it to cool with the oven door slightly ajar.