Wednesday 9 January 2013

How to: make a pavlova

I know it's January & everyone is trying to be super healthy, but I couldn't resist sharing this recipe (it's worth breaking your resolutions for!).


I made a pavlova for the first time at Christmas & was quite nervous about it - I know how tricky meringues can be! But my mum gave me the recipe she's been using for years & it was so quick (& easy!) that I made it again two weeks later when my lovely pals came round for tea. I think it might even become my new pudding-of-choice for dinner parties!

You can put basically anything on top, but I think it tastes best with loads of berries. Here's what you need:

  • 4 egg whites
  • 225g caster sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence
  • 2 level tsps cornflour
  • 1 tsp vinegar
  • 1/2 pint of double cream
  • fruit to go on top

First, start by heating your oven to 150 degrees (C) & measure out the sugar into a bowl.


Then seperate the eggs and whisk the egg whites in a large clean bowl. Egg whites can be very temperamental  so it's important that the bowl is spotless & no yolk has snuck in. 

 
Keep whisking until the egg whites are stiff and standing in peaks (see photo above) - as soon as they look like this stop mixing (otherwise you risk over-mixing, and having the egg whites collapse in on themselves).

Now start to slowly add the sugar and whisk until it's all mixed in, and then add in the vanilla, cornflour and vinegar. 


Once all of your ingredients are stirred in, start to spoon the meringue onto a dish. To make things easy I used a round oven dish  which was also going to double up as the serving dish (you can bake it on a piece of non-stick baking paper, but it's a faff to get off!). 

This is a really fun bit - spread the meringue all over your dish and pile it up around the edge to form a case. Pop in the oven for 60 minutes (and DO NOT open the oven door during this time).


Once it's finished prop open the oven door slightly, and allow the pavlova to cool for at least an hour without taking it out of the oven. This will help prevent the pavlova cracking in cold air, which makes for a very impressive pudding (it'll crack a little bit, but that's okay!).

When it's cool whip your cream, pile on fruit (I used strawberries, brambles and raspberries which were delicious) and enjoy!

10 comments :

  1. I've tried a low fat version of pavlova before and it was horrific! But i'll be giving this a go! x

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  2. Oh I love making pavlova (and eating it!). It's not that tricky but feels like such an achievement!

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  3. Oh how amazing does that look! Pavlova was my favourite pud when I was about 3 years old =) xx

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  4. Good grief Charlie Brown!!! That looks. AMAZING! And it has fruit. So it's allowed ;) xx

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  5. Oh yum! I've never had pavlova before, but it looks so good!

    -Jessica (Sew In Love)

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  6. I was following junior mastercheif and in the episode which they had to make the best pavlova my mouth was drooling. I somehow got the recipe and tried to make it and made a mess. It looked like a fruit salad so I gave up. So my next option would be to have it in a restaurant.

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  7. Wow this looks so yummy!! My mum doesn't use vinegar and cornflour in hers, I dunno why she just doesn't! This looks so scrummy, well done!! XxxX http://thesecondhandrose.blogspot.co.uk

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  8. My friend once tried to make a pavlova, it was interesting as she put it back in the oven after she had put the cream on top! xxx

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  9. Hmm... that looks so yummy & nice!! In my belly please!
    LaceyLoves x

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  10. Ooh this looks amazing!! Great Post, I like how it's easy to make too, your instructions are very straightforward and to the point xx

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