Chocolate Pavlovas

Ingredients
5 egg whites
1 1/4 cups caster sugar (superfine)
200g dark chocolate
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1/2 cup mascarpone
1 tablespoon marsala liqueur
1 tablespoon icing sugar


To make pavlovas...
Preheat oven to 250 F(120 C). Line two oven trays with baking paper or a silpat. 
Beat egg whites in a large bowl with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, beating until each addition is dissolved. Finely chop 75g of the dark chocolate and fold into meringue mixture with sifted cornstarch.
Shape meringue into 8 rounds on lined trays. Use the back of a spoon to make a small indentation in each pavlova. Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes, swap position of trays half way through. Pavlovas should look dry and crisp when done. 
Turn off the oven and cool pavlovas in the oven with the door ajar.


To make topping...
Chop 75g of the remaining dark chocolate, place in small saucepan with half of the cream. Stir over low heat until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth. Set aside and cool slightly.

Beat the remaining cream in a bowl until soft peaks form. Then beat in mascarpone, marsala, and sifted icing sugar until just combined.
Cut the remaining chocolate into shards. Serve pavlovas topped with cream mixture, chocolate sauce and chocolate shards.
Makes 8 individual pavlovas