I recently have had a love affair with my favorite dessert. You know how it goes: You make it once for someone. Then you think about it for a week. So you make it again. And if that’s not enough, you think about it non-stop for the following week, and make it again. This is the story of my life the past couple of months in the dessert world.
It’s a dessert called Pavlova (a meringue-based dessert) and it’s a sliver of heaven on a plate. Every bite makes you say “MMMMMMMMMMMMMM.” It’s that good. I wish I could say that it is hard to make and I’m a great cook, but again, I’m one for EASY.
The recipe mostly comes from here, with a couple of tweaks.
Here’s what you need:
* 4 egg whites
* 1 1/4 cups white sugar
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 teaspoon lemon juice
* 2 teaspoons cornstarch
* 1 pint heavy whipping cream
* 3 Tablespoons Sugar or Confectioner’s Sugar
*1/2 tspn grated lemon zest
* 1 tsp vanilla
* fruit- I prefer berries…blueberries, strawberries, and blackberries (cut up)
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Draw a 9 inch circle on the parchment paper. If you have a silpat sheet, it works great and you can skip the parchment paper doodling, as I did.
2. In a large bowl, beat egg whites until stiff but not dry.
I’m no ‘stiff but not dry’ expert, but mine looked like this when I was done.
3. In a blender, pulse the sugar for a few seconds to make it finer than regular sugar, but not as powdery as confectioner’s sugar.
4. Gradually add in the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat until thick and glossy (It starts to look like marshmallow fluff). Don’t overbeat, though. Overbeaten egg whites lose volume and deflate when folded into other ingredients.
5. Gently fold in vanilla extract, lemon juice and cornstarch.
6. Spoon mixture inside the circle drawn on the parchment paper or onto your silpat sheet. Working from the center, spread mixture toward the outside edge, building edge slightly. This should leave a slight depression in the center. Pardon my rendition. I choose the ‘doesn’t-matter-if-it’s-not-perfect,-you’ll-be-eating-it’ approach.
7. Bake for 1ish hour. Don’t forget to put a little in a ramekin for yourself so you can ‘taste test’ it. THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT STEP. WINK WINK.
(I turn my oven off about 45-50 minutes into the process and just leave it in the oven to cool completely. I’ve had success using this method. You can also just cool on a wire rack. You can make this the day before, but do not refrigerate it. Store it in an airtight container.)
8. If you used the parchment paper, remove the paper, and place meringue on a flat serving plate. RIGHT BEFORE SERVING and not a moment before, Make your whipped cream. (Directions: In a chilled small mixing bowl and with chilled beaters, beat cream until it begins to thicken. Add confectioners’ sugar and vanilla and lemon zest; beat until soft peaks form.)
I actually cut the meringue in pieces, then top each individual piece with whipped topping and fruit. That way, the meringue doesn’t get soggy and you can have left overs. But if you want to impress and there will be several people eating it, you can fill the entire center of the meringue with the whipped cream. Then top with fruit. Voila!
