Pavlovas are little cookies from the heavens . They are hard from outside and soft and chewy from inside, arguably my favorite dessert of all time.
They are a little finicky but I assure you if you follow these tricks ,you'll get them right and impress all your guests on your next summer party !The whole thing can be made up a day or two ahead of time.
There are a million recipes on the net and they're almost all good but I like to cut down on the sugar a bit, I don't prefer sickly sweet desserts but if you're ok , you could use any recipe you like!
I made this station for almost 32 people , the recipe is fairly easy to multiply so I am just going to write the recipe 8 people. I multiplied this recipe by 4.
For the Pavlovas:
2 Large egg whites
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup (minus a tablespoon) of granulated sugar*
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
*Note: Once you measure the sugar , take out a tablespoon of it . You don't have to but I like to.
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 300 º F . Line a baking tray with parchment paper, a neat trick to help it stay in place is to sprinkle the tray with a few water droplets and then put the paper in place.
In a squeaky clean bowl ( if it has a little bit of grease, your whites will not fluff up), start by beating the whites on medium speed, you can use both a hand or a stand mixer.Add cream of tartar once they are a little foamy. 3 minutes in (once they start forming soft peaks), add vanilla and start adding granulated sugar one tablespoon at a time while beauting on medium to high speed. Once the sugar is mixed , beat on high for another 3 minutes, just for insurance.They will start looking glossy and form a hard peak stage.
You can use a spatula to make little circles of meringue on the parchment lined tray but I find it much easier to pipe through a piping bag. Use a large nozzle to pipe ( any design you like), you can even use a plain old ziplock bag and just snip off one corner with scissors! Start piping from the inside of the circle and swirl it around to create your desired size and then raise the edges by piping the walls( try not to pick up the piping bag, doing this in one swift motion).
Pipe the circle two inches away from each other.
My meringues were about 2 and a half inches wide so I baked them for 17 minutes, if you make smaller ones, they will need less time to bake. Start from 15 minutes.
Let the meringues dry in the oven for at least 3 hours, resist the urge to open the oven door.I left them in overnight since I had the party next day, they were perfect.
I served them with the most glorious Lemon curd, you can use store bought but its if you're up for it, the recipe is below!
Ingredients:
2 yolks from the eggs
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons Cornstarch
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons butter
Directions:
Beat eggs yolks with a forking a bowl and keep separate.In a saucepan , stir together sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, water. Once mixed , turn the heat up to low to medium and keep on stirring until thickened.
Once bubbles start forming , put a tablespoon of lemon mixture in the beaten egg yolks.Now transfer this mixture back into the lemon mixture, continuously stirring with a hand whisk.Stir for two minutes on low heat.
Remove from heat and add butter and stir until melted.Cover the surface of the curd with plastic wrap and chill.
I also like to serve it with Salted whipped cream and A Mint Berry Salad
I like adding a pinch of Maldon Sea Salt to sweetened whipped cream .
I also add sprigs of mint to cut up mixed berry salad with a sprinkle of chunky raw sugar and a pinch of salt!
I hope you enjoy making this recipe as much as I did.