Classic Pavlova
A pavlova is essentially one large meringue, topped with lashings of whipped cream and decorated with fruit.
Classic pavlova, if you get it right, can be a very easy dessert to make. If we are having friends over for dinner, I simply make the pavlova first thing in the morning and then leave it unattended for the rest of the day, until just before serving when I will disappear into the kitchen to whip the cream and prepare the fruit topping.
And considering that I always have a stash of egg whites in the freezer, a pavlova can be a fairly economical dessert. Plus, pavlova happens to be gluten-free, so this dessert appears every time I need to accommodate gluten-intolerance. You could even make the complete dessert dairy-free by using coconut yoghurt in place of the whipped cream.
Make it in advance: I recommend making the pavlova the night before serving, or in the morning if you plan on serving it later in the evening. This will give the pavlova plenty of time to cool and dry in the oven for the perfect crisp meringue shell and slightly chewy center. As the meringue base is quite sweet, sour fruits tend to work best to off-set the sweetness, together with the whipped cream (which should be unsweetened) to soften the crunchy exterior.
Ingredients:
- 3 egg whites
- 180 g (½ cup plus ⅓ cup) caster sugar (superfine sugar)
- 1½ teaspoons cornflour (cornstarch)
- 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 250 ml (1 cup) double cream (heavy whipping cream)
- 3–4 passionfruits
- raspberries