Berry Passionate Pavlova

Berry Passionate Pavlova & the long stretch of desserts

The last few days have been amazing for me as an aspiring baker; I did my first full on dessert table order for a friend I made over the internet (yay, internet buddies!). She rang me around a month ago to say that she was throwing an engagement party for 60-odd guests and whether I could do a dessert table for her. So me being the over-achieving consultant that I am, said yes immediately! Only to think of the time it would take to actually execute (lol execute, I really am a bloody consultant, aren't I?) the items in the order much later.

Regardless of the fact that I am under resourced (hahahaha funny, it's really just me and my amazing Kakak who helps me separate egg whites and line my baking pans... yikes...), it was so much fun! A wonderful experience, and one that I am really looking forward to do again. Except this time, I may be more realistic and not bite off more than I can chew. 

the lovely couple & an incomplete shot of the dessert table

The dessert table that the lovely bride-to-be requested included the following items:

1. 1 small two-tiered cake (beetroot chocolate with my new favourite cream cheese frosting)
2. 3 6-inch cakes (vanilla cake with strawberry champagne filling, hummingbird cake, strawberry cake)
3. 24 mini tiered cakes (chocolate cake with swiss meringue buttercream)
4. 24 mini pavlovas (strawberry pavlova with freshly whipped cream, and a passionfruit syrup topping)
5. 24 cupcakes (earl grey tea cakes with aforementioned new favourite cream cheese frosting)
6. A tray of chocolate brownies (the recipe of which I have yet to share)

Out of these items, I have chosen to share the recipe for the Berry Passionate Pavlova with you lot (yay!). It's really simple to make, and just takes a little bit more effort and time than I usually prefer. I do hope you give it a shot, or if you're too lazy and live/work around the Kuala Lumpur area, then please do drop me a comment and I'll swing by with a box of these lovelies for you. Heeeheee shameless plugging. 

Berry Passionate Pavlova

• 4 large egg whites
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 2 tbsp cornflour
• 2 tsp distilled white vinegar
• 1 tsp strawberry extract (I used a clear extract, then coloured with a drop of Wilton's Dusky Pink gel colouring)

1. Preheat the oven to 150C, and line a few baking trays with parchment paper
2. Beat egg whites in a free standing mixer using the whisk attachment until stiff peaks form, start at the lowest speed and gradually (but rather quickly) increase the speed to medium-high. This should take around 5 - 8 minutes, depending on the humidity of the room you're in
3. Then slowly add in the sugar, I like to allow it to trickle into the bowl while it's mixing 
4. Once the sugar is incorporated, add the cornflour, beat for a bit more, then add the vinegar... beat a bit more
5. Then finally add the strawberry extract and colouring / OR you could just not and have plain meringue pavlovas
6. To make mini bite-sized pavlovas, transfer the meringue mixture into a piping bag and pipe onto the baking trays. I used a Wilton 1M tip to create a rose effect, however you may also just do dollops in a bag or with a spoon (whatever is easiest for you, you don't need to go out and buy tools and tips if you don't have them). 
7. Pop them in the oven and bake for 35-45 minutes. Start watching them around 35 minutes cos the smaller they are, the faster they bake, and you want to retain a marshmallowy centre with a crisp outer shell. At this point, what I do is just tap the sides with the back of a butter knife to see if they are hard and crisp. If they are, then I like to take them out at that point

WOW long winded instructions, lol but these are REALLY surprisingly darned easy to make
Then once the meringues have cooled, you may choose to enjoy them as is or top with freshly whipped cream and fruits. I chose to drizzle some passionfruit syrup over it that I had leftover from previous recipes.

Enjoy!
xx Nabs

Kiwi & Passionfruit Pavlova

Ever since my trip to New Zealand at the end of last year, where our gracious hostess had left a homemade pavlova in our fridge for our Christmas pudding, I have been tempted to recreate the recipe. And as the pavlova is NZ's national dessert, there was an abundance of recipes in most of their souvenir and curio shops (such as a very cute apron with the recipe embroidered on the front that my aunt bought). Yet, as friends may know, I have always been a bit wary when it comes to working with egg whites (as in whipping or separating them).

Last weekend though, I felt like it just needed to be done. I just had a craving for that crispy crunchy shell, and the icky-sweet marshmallowy centre, with tangy cooling fruits over the top... Mmmm! Besides that, it has also been a while since I've challenged myself with a recipe.

So being the paranoid baker that I am, to prepare the kitchen for whipping meringues in an incredibly humid country (we live on the Equator), I drew all the curtains in the house, put the air-conditioning and de-humidifiers on, and shooed my sister out (body heat, ya know? LOL) of the kitchen. After a good half hour of house conditioning, I felt it was safe to begin...
Pavlova recipe
from an embroidered apron bought in NZ

• 4 large egg whites, room temperature 
• 220g caster sugar
• 2 tbsp cornflour, sifted
• 2 tsp white vinegar

1. Preheat the oven to 150C
2. In your thoroughly grease-free large mixing bowl, with the whisk attachment, whip the eggwhites (with a pinch of salt) until stiff peaks form (roughly 8-10 minutes depending on the climate)
3. Add sugar slowly, whisking well as you go
4. Add the cornflour and vinegar, whisk until just combined
5. Shape the meringue onto non-stick paper on your baking tray
6. Reduce the oven temperature to 120C, bake for 1 hour 20 minutes, after which you prop the oven door open with a wooden spatula, and allow the pavlova to cool in the oven with the oven

Toppings

• 150ml whipping cream, refrigerated
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Pinch of salt
• 1 kiwi fruit, sliced thinly
• Passionfruit seeds

1. Pop your mixing bowl and whisk in the freezer for up to 10 minutes, then when you're ready, whisk the whipping cream, vanilla and salt until fluffy (about 8 minutes, do not overwhisk as this will turn into butter)
2. Gently (I am telling you three times, gently) pipe or cover the top of the pavlova with the cream, then drizzle over with the passionfruit seeds, and arrange the kiwi slices as you like

Caution: this recipe is VERY sweet, though the texture turned out perfectly! I was so surprised that it worked on my first try, as I fully expected it to only work on the third try. My new oven is a godsend, I swear. My aunt mentioned a way to make it less sweet while retaining that texture... I'm going to give that a shot this weekend, and if it works, I'll definitely share the recipe with you.
Lots of love,
Nabs