The issue with big dinners, is that often, few have room for a heavy dessert, which means things such as cakes are often out of the question. Serving simply fruit and ice cream can seem simple (albeit delicious), and not quite the showstopper a cake could be.
This is where pavlovas come in, and my personal preference, berry pavlovas. Light and airy, and the perfect amount of sweet, a pavlova may just be the perfect dessert. It also requires simple and easily sourced ingredients, which, spare the berries if they're not in season, are quite cheap.
Added bonus: pavlovas are often gluten free and can easily be made dairy free (be sure to check the full ingredients list on any items you purchase).
It does need to be made a day in advance, in my opinion, and can be a bit of a tedious process as you wait. There are a few rules to making a pavlova: 1. Never open the oven as it bakes.
2. Allow the pavlova to cool/dry in the oven after you've switched it off.
3. Do not obsess over cracks.
The below recipe will serve around 6 people, and has been adapted from taste.com.au.
Ingredients
Pavlova Base
6 egg whites
270gr caster sugar
2 tsp cornflour (+ extra for dusting)
1 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp vanilla essence
Filling
350ml cream (must be whippable)
2 tbsp icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
700gr fresh mixed berries
Simple Syrup
50gr sugar
50gr water
Method
1. Making the meringue base. Using a stand mixer or hand held mixer (a requirement for this recipe, in my opinion), whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form.
2. Slowly start adding in a tablespoon of the sugar at a time, whisking between each addition. It is vital that the sugar is not dumped into the eggs, as they will deflate. As you whisk in the sugar, the mixture should start to become thick and glossy. Stiff peaks will start to form, however, check that all the sugar has dissolved by rubbing a small amount of the mixture between your fingers. If you can still feel sugar granules, keep whisking.
3. Preheat your oven to 110 degrees celsius, on the fan setting if this is an option on your oven.
4. On a piece of wax paper, draw out a circle around 10-12 inches wide. I personally used the serving plate I was planning to use as a guide, and used a slightly smaller plate to sketch out the circle. Flip the wax paper so that you do not spread the meringue onto the ink/pencil sketch.
5. Grease the wax paper and sprinkle some cornflour onto it, shaking off the excess.
6. Start spreading the meringue onto the circle, creating the base. Once a base layer has been established, start building it up slowly. Once it has been built up into somewhat of a mountain, carve out a bit of a space at the top - this will allow you to fill the pavlova with cream and berries.
7. Bake the pavlova for 1 and a half hours. Do not open the oven under any circumstance. Once the hour and a half has passed, open the oven slightly and touch the outside of the pavlova to make sure it's more or less dry. Close the oven completely and let dry for a few hours inside the oven, or ideally, overnight.
8. Making the simple syrup. In a small saucepan, add the water and sugar. Leave on a medium-high heat until all the sugar dissolves. Set aside to cool.
9. Assembling the pavlova. My attempt to remove the pavlova from the wax paper completely failed, and I opted to not try and force it off, and simply cut around it instead, sliding it off the baking tray onto my serving dish. My base was anything but perfect - it had cracks on bits of the surface, and more in the hollowed out bit. It is apparently possible to make the perfect pavlova base, but this is rare. So do not fret about the cracks. Quite frankly, the pavlova is such a gorgeous dish anyway, that a few cracks can't ruin it. Beyond that, often, the cream and berries will hide the cracks. Advice: Only assemble the pavlova until you are just about ready to serve. It will only take a few minutes to assemble it, and it ensures it retains its perfect look for serving.
10. Whip the cream until soft peaks form, and add in the icing sugar and vanilla. Whisk further, but be careful not to over whisk, as the cream will curdle.
11. Prepare the chosen berries by cleaning them and removing stems or stones. I personally opted to leave some of the cherries, strawberries, and physalis whole for decor purposes. The strawberries were cleaned and quartered, cherries halved with the stones removed, blueberries simple cleaned well, and physalis husk removed and the berries halved. These were then mixed in a large bowl, with the simple syrup added in, and tossed until coated.
12. Place the cream in the hollowed out pavlova first. There is no rhyme or reason to this. Add the berries on top, leaving the whole ones till the end to decorate with. Serve cold.
Recreating this recipe? Tag me on instagram @juliawgr.
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