Honeyed Drambuie Mocha Pavlova

By Drambuie

The ultimate showstopper for any Christmas party, this pavlova is certainly worth taking a little time and effort over.

With indulgent ingredients like Drambuie, chocolate and coffee, the meringue is crisp, yet soft inside. Serve with a Drambuie Iced Espresso for an extra-special fifth course treat.

Preparation time: 1 hour
Cooking time: 1 hour + 8 hours cooling
Serves: 10

Ingredients

For the meringue:

6 large egg whites
300g golden caster sugar
1tsp white wine vinegar
1.5tsp cornflour
1tbsp espresso powder, dissolved in 1tsp boiling water, cooled

For the honeycomb:

5tbsp golden syrup
200g golden caster sugar
2 heaped tsp bicarbonate of soda

For the chocolate sauce:

75g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
125ml double cream
2tbsp caster sugar
2tbsp espresso or strong coffee
2tbsp Drambuie Honeyed Liqueur

For the cream:

500ml double cream
2tbsp heather honey
2tsp cocoa, sifted
2tbsp Drambuie Honeyed Liqueur, or to taste

For the topping:

Handful of chocolate covered coffee beans
Chocolate caramels

To Make:

To make the meringues: preheat the oven to 150ºC / 130ºC fan / gas mark 2. Line 3 large baking trays with greaseproof paper and draw a 20cm circle on each.
Whisk the egg white in a large clean bowl until it forms firm peaks. Gradually whisk in half the sugar, 1tbsp at a time. Whisk in the white wine vinegar and cornflour, then continue to whisk in the sugar until thick and glossy and it forms stiff peaks. Carefully fold through the espresso mixture until it forms swirls.
Spoon the meringue onto the 3 prepared baking trays. Bake in the oven for about 1 hour, until the bottom of the meringue sounds hollow when tapped. Turn off the heat and allow to cool in the oven for at least 8 hours, or overnight.
To make the honeycomb: grease and line a large, lipped baking tray. Heat the golden syrup and sugar in a pan over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved, stirring to that it doesn’t bubble. Once the sugar has dissolved, allow to come to a simmer and gently heat for 5min, or until the caramel is starting to turn amber. Remove from the heat then very quickly add the bicarbonate of soda and stir with a wooden spoon. Be prepared for the mixture to bubble up. Pour into the prepared tray and leave to cool for 1-2 hours until set. Once set, cut into shards. Kept in an airtight container the honeycomb will last up to 1 month.
To make the chocolate sauce: in a pan gently melt together all the ingredients, apart from the Drambuie Honeyed Liqueur. Once melted, remove from the heat and stir in the liqueur. Set aside to cool.
When ready to serve: whisk the double cream with the honey, cocoa and Drambuie Honeyed Liqueur until thickened. Be careful not to over-whip.
Place the first meringue on a serving plate. Spoon 1/3 of the cream on top and dust over some of the smaller honeycomb pieces.
Repeat with the next layer. Decorate the top layer with remaining cream, the chocolate-covered coffee beans, chocolate caramels and large shards of honeycomb. Finish by spooning over some of the chocolate sauce. Serve the rest of the sauce in a jug. Serve immediately.