Mixed Berry Pavlova
Continuing with my baking weekend, the other recipe I wanted to try in my cookbook was the Mixed Berry Pavlova recipe. There was a lot of fail on my part that went into making this dish.
First, I thought we had all the ingredients we needed to make this dish so I didn’t invest in buying too many extra ingredients at the grocery store. When we came back, I realized I didn’t have enough eggs to last me the week if I used all the eggs in this recipe. Plus, I only had like 2 tbsp of whipping cream left -_-
Needless to say, I had to halve my recipe to make this work and it worked out because now I don’t have all this extra dessert lying around which allows me to bake other things 😀
The other thing I changed about this recipe is that I took out the liqueur aspect of the mixed berry garnish. Originally, the recipe asked that I toss the mixed berries in some sugar and Grand Marnier. I didn’t have any Grand Marnier so I used Cointreau instead and I thought it tasted ok… but J hated it. It wasn’t THAT bad. I didn’t add the alcohol in the next batch and I have to admit, it did taste much better. Â This is a cute and elegant dish and when made in smaller portions, it can look very exquisite.
Mixed Berry Pavlova
Ingredients
- 2 large egg whites, room temperature
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tsp corn starch
- 1 tsp white vinegar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup strawberries
- 1/2 cup blueberries
- 1/2 cup raspberries
- 1/8 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup whipping cream (35%)
- Fresh mint leaves for garnish
- Confectioner Sugar for garnish
Instructions
- 1. Preheat oven to 300F.
- 2. In a stand mixer using a whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites and pinch of salt until frothy. Slowly add the sugar in a bit at a time until all sugar is incorporated. Whisk until stiff peaks (egg whites should be smooth and glossy)
- 3. Add in cornstarch, vinegar, and vanilla extract into the egg white mixture and fold to combine.
- 4. Spoon dollops of the meringue onto a Silpat or parchment paper and smooth into a round dish using the back of a spoon. You may press down on the middle of the meringue to make a shallow crater so that it leaves space for the whipping cream and berries later.
- 5. Turn down the oven to 250F right before you're about to place the meringues in the oven and make for approximately 50 minutes to an hour. The meringues should remain white - if they're starting to turn a bit golden you've baked them for too long.
- 6. While the meringue is baking, toss the berries with 1/8 cup of sugar and allow to sit so that the fruits start oozing in juices.
- 7. Also, start whipping the whipping cream in a cold bowl.
- 8. When meringue is done, allow to cool. Dollop some freshly whipped cream into the crater you made earlier in the meringue and top with the sugar coated berries. Garnish with some fresh mint leaves and dust on some confectioner sugar. Done!
