Hazelnut And Meringue Baileys Pavlova

Hazelnut And Meringue Baileys Pavlova
Celebrity chef Ben O’Donoghue shares his recipe for this gorgeous Christmas pavlova, made with Baileys liquor – beats a hot Christmas pudding anytime!
275g caster sugar
2 teaspoons cornflour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
5 eggwhites
50g roasted hazelnuts, skins roughly removed by rubbing in palm of hand, chopped
1 1/2 cups thickened cream
1/4 cup icing sugar
1/4 cup baileys Irish Cream
200g mixed berries or fruit of your choice
Preheat oven to 120 C. Draw two 22cm rounds onto baking paper and place paper on a baking tray.
Whisk eggwhites until stiff peaks form. Add 2 tablespoons sugar at a time making sure each is dissolved before you add the next batch. Mixture should be stiff and shiny.
Whisk in combined cornflour and spices.
Spread 2/3 mixture onto rounds.
Sprinkle 1/2 the nuts.
Place the remaining meringue into a snaplock bag and cut a small corner off . Pipe individual meringues onto baking tray lined with baking paper.
Bake all meringues for 45 minutes. Cool.
Whip cream, icing sugar and Baileys. Spread half the cream onto one meringue and place the other layer on top. Spread with remaining cream and top with baby meringues. Scatter over remaining nuts and add berries.
For a special occasion dip baby meringues in melted chocolate with a little edible gold leaf on top.