These dark chocolate swirled pavlovas are crisp on the outside, marshmallowy and soft on the inside, and are topped with a billowy, lightly sweetened cream cheese frosting and fresh raspberries and strawberries. Add another generous drizzle of dark chocolate and a snowfall of powdered sugar and you have the prettiest, most romantic Valentine's Day dessert. These are truly a dream.

I'm all about beautiful desserts that are super simple to make but no one would ever know.
Here are a couple things I love about these chocolate swirled pavlovas:

-Only one bowl required

-You can pop them in the oven and forget about them

-You can make them 2-3 days ahead of time

-How beautiful yet simple they are

In every bite you get dreamy layers of lusiocus, juicy berries, fluffy, pillowy cream cheese frosting, and lastly a chocolately pavlova that is pure perfection. Unlike a meringue shell, a pavlova is soft and has a marshmallow texture in the center, surrounded by a crisp exterior. And of course, we add a generous drizzle of extra dark chocolate and a small blizzard of powdered sugar.
It is -30 out and almost Valentine's after all.

-scroll through these pics on how to make them-

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Dark Chocolate Swirled Pavlovas with Cream Cheese Frosting

Servings 30 pavlovas

Ingredients

Pavlova

7 oz dark chocolate
14 large egg whites
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
4 cups white granulated sugar*
2 Tbsp cornstarch
2 tsp white vinegar

Frosting

8 oz cream cheese softened to room temp
pinch of salt
splash of vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar add an extra 1/4 cup if you prefer it sweeter
4 cups heavy cream

Extra melted dark chocolate for drizzling

Fresh raspberries and strawberries

Powdered sugar for dusting

Mint leaves to garnish

Instructions

Add the chopped chocolate into a heat proof bowl and melt in 60 sec intervals in the microwave, stirring between each interval. Do not overheat. Cool completely.
Preheat oven to 212 F. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Add egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt to stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment. Beat until frothy. Very slowly add half of the sugar (2 cups) and beat until egg whites become thick and very foamy. While beating add white vinegar and cornstarch and beat until soft peaks form. Add remaining 2 cups sugar VERY slowly and gradually until stiff, glossy peaks form. While beating, scrape down any bits of sugar around the sides. When you lift whisk attachment to check meringue peaks they shouldn't droop or flop around, but should hold their peak perfectly.
Add 3/4 of melted and cooled chocolate to pavlova. Fold gently with spatula to distribute chocolate a bit. But do not mix. You want the chocolate to have a swirled, marbled effect, and even scooping it out mixes the chocolate. So just fold chocolate in a bit to distribute, and you're done.
Use 2 metal spoons to scoop out big fluffy mounds of meringue unto your lined sheets. Make a little dip in the center with a spoon to make room for your frosting.
Once your pavlovas are scooped, drizzle the extra chocolate on top.
Bake meringue for 2 hrs and 30-40 min until pavlovas lift easily off parchment, and are dry and crisp on the outside. Check the center with a sharp knife. You want a very moist center, but not runny. Don't overbake pavlovas or they will be crisp without that soft center. You can store cool pavlovas for 2 days.*
For the frosting, beat cream cheese, salt, vanilla, and powdered sugar until smooth, scraping down the sides. Add heavy cream and continue beating until fluffy.

Assembly

Pipe or scoop a generous amount of cream on top. Drizzle with dark chocolate. Top with fresh raspberries and strawberries. Garnish with mint. Dust with powdered sugar if desired. Serve and enjoy.

Notes

Use a high quality dark chocolate bar or baking chocolate. I used President's Choice. The darker the chocolate the better because it balances out the sweet meringue. Bittersweet chocolate could be excellent as well.

*It's best to use white sugar for meringue. Anything else discolors it.

*Pavlovas must be eaten after assembling. If they stand too long they become soggy. They cannot be refrigerated.