Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Vanilla Pavlova



Would you believe I've never made Pavlova?  I've always loved it but never actually made it.  I remember as a teenager going to my second cousins wedding and being delighted to hear that the wedding cake was a tower of pavlovas!  I thought it was genius and decided that day to do it for my wedding, but alas I got married in America and it was not an option.  This recipe turned out to be pretty simple, although all the whipping is time consuming and I cannot imagine doing it without a mixer of some kind.  It turned out just perfectly crunchy on the outside and marshmallow-y on the inside.  Top it with whatever fruit you have on hand. I was hoping to use passion fruit as well, but I couldn't get any yesterday.  Berries are particularly delicious.  This would also work very well with a mascarpone topping.
Ingredients: 
For the meringue:
  • 5 egg whites, at room temperature
  • 1.25 cups caster sugar
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 tsp white vinegar
  • 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out
  • 1.5 tbsp cornflour (corn starch)
For the topping:
  • 1 carton of whipping cream
  • 2-3 tbsp caster sugar to taste
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • Fruit of your choice
Beat the eggs until stiff and slowly add in sugar.  Beat for 5-10 minutes until very stiff shiny peaks form.  Add vanilla, vinegar and vanilla beans and beat until all combined.  Fold in corn flour.

Line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment.  Use a plate to trace a circle on the parchment.  Dump the meringue into the center of the circle and spread out to meet the edges.

Bake at 120C for 60-90 minutes to desired doneness. Allow to cool with oven door ajar.

Once cool, whip cream with vanilla and sugar and spread on top of meringue.  Decorate with fruit and serve immediately!

Enjoy after a lovely BBQ with some sangria, as pictured right! ;)

1 comment:

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