Whisked Egg Whites Collapsing

Our answer

Nigella's Chocolate Raspberry Pavlova (from NIGELLA SUMMER) has a meringue base that is flavoured with cocoa and chopped chocolate. Often if the meringue of a pavlova is collapsing it is because either there were traces of grease on the equipment, or in the egg whites, or the egg whites have been whisked too much and start to look a little like cotton wool. To make sure that your equipment is grease-free try wiping it with some paper towel that has been dipped in lemon juice or white wine vinegar. The egg whites should be whisked to no more than stiff peaks before the sugar is added. Once the sugar has been added the meringue should be whisked back to stiff peaks.

However, if it is hot and humid where you live there is also a chance that the cocoa powder has absorbed some moisture and this could be contributing to the meringue collapsing. Acid can help to stabilize the egg white foam so whisk the vinegar in before folding in the remaining ingredients. If you are using a good-quality balsamic vinegar, with low acidicty, then you may want to switch it for lemon juice or white wine vinegar instead.