Chocolate Raspberry Pavlova - Mom's Birthday Cake

Last week, we celebrated my mother's birthday. I immediately knew what I was going to make for her birthday cake. I had seen the recipe for this Raspberry Chocolate Pavlova a few months back and had anxiously been waiting for the perfect opportunity to create this elegant dessert.

The mounds of freshly whipped cream and piles of ripe raspberries, that look like sweet jewels, make for a beautiful presentation and can compete any day with a traditionally frosted and decorated birthday cake.

The chocolate meringue base has a light, crunchy shell but the inside consistency is more like a marriage of brownie and meringue textures. The use of chocolate in this pavlova works very well with the flavors and tartness of the raspberries. The fresh whipped cream adds to the overall lightness of the dessert and anything is better with freshly whipped cream!
 
The only changes I made to the recipe was the addition of vanilla bean and a little sugar to the whipped cream. It looks like an intimidating recipe, but it really is rather simple and just takes a little time.
 
Happy Birthday Mom!
 

The July Family Birthdays - My Mom & Nephew

Mixing Medication and Chocolate

I started a new medication last night. The doctor reviewed the likely side effects with me, which include headaches, hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, nausea and vomiting. Sounds like a lot of fun, right? And, I’m sure, more than you ever wanted to know about me. At least I'll have some good practice with hot flashes prior to menopause. Plus, mood swings are nothing new to me. Just ask Jim. :)

About ten minutes after taking my first dose, my hypochondriac side comes out and I'm sure the side effects are in full swing. ugh!

To make myself feel better, I decided that I needed to self-medicate with chocolate. We didn't have anything good in our house to cure the craving, so I decided to whip up some Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes last night. Sometimes a girl really needs a serious chocolate fix. ;)

Hot out of the oven and topped with whipped cream.

(Ethan loves these star fruits that I used as garnish. I was excited to see them in our small town grocery store.)

And now for the best part...

...letting all the warm chocolate "lava" ooze out. Holy Yum!

This did the trick. My "side effects" all vanished as I drifted off into a chocolate coma.