Berry Yummy Pavlova
This has got to be my all time favourite dessert. Never thought much of restaurant bought Pavlova but after having tried a home cooked version one day, I became a fan of this Aussie dessert for life. They are so easy to make too.
People often complain about their Pavlova collapsing. The trick to avoiding this is to allow the Pavlova time to cool slowly in the oven before taking it out.
A few things make the Pavlova and these are not negotiable. The Pavlova must have a white glossy finish; a super crunchy exterior and lastly, soft spongy marshmallow interior. This fail safe recipe guarantees all of the above. Here is one spectacular Pav waiting to be baked by you.
- 6 egg whites
280g caster sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons corn flour
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
600ml cream for whipping
1 punnet strawberry
2 kiwi fruits
1 passion fruit
Preheat the oven to 100 degrees Celsius on a fan forced setting.
In a clean mixing bowl, whisk egg whites until soft peaks form. Add in the lemon juice, corn flour and vanilla essence. Continue to whisk while slowly pouring in the sugar. Keep whisking until stiff peaks form and the meringue is a glossy white.
Line a baking tray with baking paper and pour out the meringue. Using a metal tablespoon; shape the meringue into a round cake like shape. I try to keep the meringue looking a bit rough such that after it is baked, the spiky bits become the crunchy bits giving the Pavlova that added texture.
Bake at 100 degree Celsius for 90 minutes. When the timer goes off, continue to leave the meringue in the oven to cool for another 4 hours or so. The slow cooling prevents the Pavlova from collapsing.
In a clean mixing bowl, whip the cream until stiff. Some creams come pre-sweetened and no sugar is required to be added. For cream that has no sugar, add about 5 tablespoons of icing sugar to lift the taste during whipping.
Cut up the kiwi fruit and strawberries. Decorate and drizzle over some passionfruit. Pav is ready to be enjoyed by the peeps.
As mentioned earlier, a good Pavlova should have a white glossy finish; a super crunchy exterior and lastly, soft spongy marshmallow interior like the little slice of heaven below.
