Summer Fruits Pavlova
It’s June, and we’re finally in the swing of summer, life is still a bit weird right now but let’s enjoy the warmer weather and look forward to spending time with our loved ones once again. Pavlova is such a classic summer pudding, it’s light and chewy and absolutely perfect with seasonal fresh fruit and double cream!
Ingredients
3 Egg Whites
175g Caster Sugar
Berries for the topping
Double Cream
Icing Sugar (1tbsp)
Preheat your oven to 150 degrees. The trick with Pavlova is low and slow, you are effectively drying out the meringue mix rather than cooking it. If it’s too hot the whole thing will shrivel into a mess. Prepare a baking tray by putting baking paper on top, you can stick it to the tray with a little butter in the corners.
Separate your egg whites into a bowl, do this really carefully because if the yolk ends up in there, even if it’s just a little bit, the whites won’t whip up properly. In a separate bowl, weigh out the sugar and put it to one side for later.
With an electric whisk start beating the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. This means that when you lift the beater out of the mix, it will hold its shape and not relax back into the mixture.
Once you have formed stiff peaks, you need to add the sugar one tablespoon at a time, while continually mixing. It is essential to do this gradually because the sugar weighs a lot more than the egg whites, and if it goes in too quickly the sugar will fall to the bottom, and the egg whites will lose the air you have beaten into them.
When all the sugar has combined, you will be left with a beautiful glossy meringue mixture! If you feel brave and want to check it is definitely ready, turn the bowl upside down above your head, it should stay inside the bowl!!
With a large spoon take about ⅓ of the mixture and create a circle of meringue mix on your baking tray, as wide as the tray allows. Now with a smaller spoon, use the leftover mixture in the bowl and put it only around the edges of your circle. This creates the high sides of the Pavlova, the cream and berries will sit in the middle of it.
Put the Pavlova into the oven and immediately turn down to 140, and leave it to cook for 1 hour. After an hour turn the oven off and leave it to cool completely.
For the decoration whip up the double cream in a large mixing bowl with 1 tbsp of icing sugar, this always takes a little longer than you think, mix it until it starts to hold its own shape, be careful not to over whip it. I used strawberries, raspberries and blueberries on my one, but you can choose any seasonal berries you like, or even use chocolate instead for a super sweet version! I personally think berries work best with it to offset the sweetness of the meringue.
The last step is to assemble it and enjoy! Put all the cream into the centre and spread it to the edges of the ‘wall’, top it with berries and try not to eat it in one sitting! It makes enough to serve 8 people, but if you need a smaller one, you can make half it.
Written by Amy Howard
Hey Everyone! My name is Amy Howard and I’m a Photographer, Food Writer and wannabe Bake Off contestant. Living and working in Bristol I have made the city my home and can be found most weekends soaking up the atmosphere of a cafe or restaurant, eating my weight in pastries, bread and cakes. Having grown up in the Buckinghamshire countryside surrounded by farms, I have a passion for local and seasonal produce, I try to incorporate it in my baking as much as possible.