Strawberry Pavlova

I’ve got 30 egg whites left from making a Prunes Layer Cake. And I remembered Nigella making this wonderful crusty dessert called Pavlova. Did some googling and saw that most recipes call for every 2 egg whites, half a cup of sugar be used. Nigella’s recipe seems so huge to me, and this being my virgin Pavlova, I don’t want to risk making a huge one. I followed Joy of Baking’s recipe, with Nigella’s method.

I thought it would be difficult, but hey no.. It’s pretty easy. I succeeded at first attempt. As long as u cool it properly in the oven, do not rush.. rushing is no good to a pavlova… Patience, wait, and you’ll be fine. It will not look perfectly smooth, but with cracks here and there and that does not mean u’ve failed. U failed when u can’t cut the pavlova. Cos the interior isn’t cooked properly. If u can cut, u’ve done it!!

I made a mistake here that I will never do again.. I made a 1 inch tall rim on my raw meringue. Some recipes say to do that rim thing, so that it will hold the cream and fruit. But when my meringue is done, the 1/2 inch wall became 1and 1/2 inches. That’s why u don’t see a mountain of strawberries. My cream and berries weren’t enough to fill up the big crater. Better leave the surface flat so that it’ll form a shallower crater when baked and cooled.

So, what does this taste like??? Sweet!!! Utterly sweet. But, nice.

It has a crunchy crust that melts in ur mouth.

A soft marshmellowy interior that isn’t sticky or gummy. Count to 3, it’s gone.

Accompanied by creamy cream and contrasted by tart strawberries…

It’s really good. Provided each bite of the pavlova be accompanied by some strawberries to offset the sweetness.

Do not try to reduce the sugar, the meringue might not hold. Just add more tart/ tangy/sour fruits to the top and it’ll be fine.

Strawberry Pavlova Recipe

4 egg whites (120gm)

200gm castor sugar

1 Tbsp cornstarch

1 tsp vinegar (I used rice vinegar)

1tsp vanilla

*If using non convection oven, pls raise the temperature by another 20C

1. Preheat oven at 180C. Draw an 7 inch circle (use a baking pan or plate/dish) with a pencil on the wrong side of a non stick baking paper. Place drawn side down on a large baking tray.

2. Beat egg whites until stiff. Beat in sugar by the tablespoons until meringue is stiff. Put in cornstarch and beat for a while (10 seconds, Don’t worry, it won’t deflate). Fold in vinegar and vanilla. (Make sure all the sugar is dissolved )
3. Mound meringue onto drawn circle, smoothing the sides and top.
4. Put into preheated oven and close the door. Immediately turn down the temperature to 130C and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes.
5. When the meringue base is ready, it will look pale and may have some cracks. Leave meringue in oven with door slightly ajar to totally cool down. If u feel that even the baking tray is cool, then it’s really cool.

Topping
200ml whipping cream
1 Tbsp sugar
200gm strawberries or more (hulled and cut into chunks)
(I stabilized my cream by adding in gelatin solution -1/2 tsp melted in 1 Tbsp water)

1. Beat whipping cream until almost stiff and put in sugar. Beat until stiff. Beat in gelatin mixture (if using).
2. Spoon cream onto cooled meringue and top with strawberries.
3. Serve immediately.

*If u want to make the meringue in advance, after baked and cooled, keep in air tight container for up to a week or two. Do not put topping on base if not served within an hour or 2.