Dalgona Coffee Pavlova
Peer Pressure Made Me Do It
I have to recognize I’m mesmerized with this dalgona coffee trend. Did you have any idea that you could do that with coffee? That it only takes instant coffee granules, hot water, sugar and five minutes of your precious time to make the famous dalgona coffee, hippest trend around? If only being cool would take such simple effort in everything else, even I would be the coolest girl anywhere. But it’s this humble and simple technique the one that makes this gorgeous cloud of creamy coffee, so it totally deserves all the rave!
I’m not fast to run to all the trends around, but I was curious about this one. And it’s so delicious I couldn’t stop imagining all the places I would drop a big spoonful of it. Over vanilla ice cream, flourless chocolate cake, to fill doughnuts… basically, anywhere you would put whipped cream you can swap for this. That’s why I knew this dalgona coffee would be amazing over a sweet chewy Pavlova!
How to make Creamy and Fluffy Dalgona Coffee
The key to make dalgona coffee super creamy and fluffy is to have equal parts of the main ingredients: coffee granules, sugar and hot water. Not that much is necessary in terms of ingredients or preparation, but it’s important that the water is extremely hot. You can microwave it in high power or boil some in a small saucepan. The hot water will dissolve the coffee and sugar very fast, making it rise a lot. And you can always whip it with a hand whisk. But here, since you will be making more than the traditional amount of one cup, I strongly recommend you use an electrical or stand mixer.
Now you know how to make this trendy whipped coffee! I suggest that you yield to the peer pressure and start making some. This once will be totally worth it!
Recipe notes
Egg whites for meringues always need an acidic component to help them be stable after rising. I always use cream of tartar plus I rub with a bit of lemon and white vinegar the bowl and wires of the whisk attachment. If you don't have cream of tartar, use about a teaspoon of lemon juice or vinegar, or a combination of both.
Also, remember that not a drop of yolk can touch the egg whites because they will not rise. I like to separate one egg over a bowl and pour the egg white on the mixing bowl. This way, if an egg yolk tears you won’t spoil the already good egg whites.
Sugar for meringue has to be very fine. If you don't have caster sugar just pulse the sugar in the food processor until the granules are fine and kind of sandy, but not pulse it so much that it turns into powdered sugar. Six to eight pulses of 10 seconds should do the trick, but follow the cues for texture.
Talking about the sugar, you need to add it slowly and one tablespoon at a time. This process could take several minutes but is KEY for a smooth and not-runny Pavlova.
I have vanilla powder in my pantry right now, and this is the perfect place to use it because a little goes a long way. But you may use half a teaspoon of pure vanilla extract as well.
Melt some chocolate chips in the microwave in 5 to 10 seconds intervals. Mix each time to melt chocolate with the least possible amount of heat. When you see pieces of chocolate not melting, heat a bit more until completely melted.
Dalgona Coffee Pavlova
Ingredients
Pavlova
◯ Egg whites, at room temperature – 6
◯ Cream of tartar (see notes) – ¼ Tsp
◯ Caster sugar or extra fine sugar (see notes) – 1 cup + 2 TBSP
◯ Freshly squeezed lemon juice (see notes) – 2 Tsp
◯ Cornstarch – 2 Tsp
◯ Vanilla powder (optional) – ¼ Tsp
◯ Dash of salt
◯ A bit of white vinegar for rubbing the bowl and whisk.
Dalgona Coffee
◯ Instant coffee granules – 8 TBSP
◯ Dark brown sugar – 5 TBSP
◯ Natural or white sugar – 3 TBSP
◯ Extremely hot water – 8 TBSP
◯ Pinch of cinnamon or cocoa powder if desired
◯ Melted chocolate for drizzling
Details
Yield:
an 8” round Pavlova
Total time:
4 to 6 hours or 2 hours plus cooling overnight
Active time:
20 minutes
Baking time:
90 minutes
Equipment:
nand electric or stand mixer, silicon mat or parchment paper, food processor (see notes on sugar)
Steps
To make the Pavlova:
Preheat oven to 265°.
If using parchment paper, draw an 8” circle and turn the paper upside down. Place it on your baking sheet.
Rub the inside of the mixing bowl and whisk wires with half a lemon. If you have white vinegar, rub with your fingers a little bit of it as well.
Place egg whites on the bowl with the cream of tartar. Mix in slow for 20 seconds to distribute the cream of tartar and then speed up the mixer to medium-high speed (I worked with the nob almost reaching #4 in the Kitchen Aid stand mixer). Whisk until the egg whites are foamy and soft peaks form, about three to four minutes (soft peak is when you pull up your whisk and there’s a peak of egg white that slowly returns to the bowl).
Start adding the sugar, one tablespoon at a time and pouring it slowly in a stream. Wait about 10 to 15 seconds between each addition. If you suddenly add too much sugar or too quickly, just wait about 30 seconds before adding more.
When you finish adding the sugar, keep whisking until you pass your fingers through the egg whites (stop your mixer first) and they feel completely smooth, about 5 minutes. If the sugar has not yet dissolved, keep whisking for 5 to 7 seven minutes more until completely smooth and that you can barely feel the sugar. Egg whites should be glossy.
Stop the mixer and add the lemon juice, cornstarch, vanilla powder and dash of salt. Whisk for 15 seconds to incorporate them.
Take a bit of meringue with a spoon (or your clean finger) and smooth it below you parchment paper to “glue” it to your baking sheet (if not using a silicon mat). Scrap meringue to it all at once and with a spatula or a large spoon mold it down inside the circle. Smooth it around with a spoon from the bottom up and to the sides to create some swirls.
Bake for 10 minutes. Decrease temperature oven to 195° and bake for 80 minutes. Turn oven off and leave Pavlova inside for about an hour (it doesn’t matter if you leave it a bit more). Barely open the oven door and insert through the middle a wooden spoon to prevent door from closing. Leave Pavlova there for 45 minutes to one hour. You can leave the Pavlova overnight in the oven too, if serving the next day (highly recommended).
Drizzle with melted chocolate and top with the dalgona coffee cream. Recipe follows.
To make the Dalgona Coffee:
Mix coffee and sugars in a bowl. Pour the hot water and, using either a stand mixer or electric hand mixer with the whisk attachment or a hand whisk, mix until light and foamy, about 7 to 10 minutes. Add the pinch of cinnamon or cocoa powder and mix for an extra 20 seconds. Scrap over Pavlova. Dust some cinnamon, cocoa powder and arrange some chopped nuts on top if desired.
