Page 36 - Real Rochdale Issue 18 Summer 2023
P. 36

INDIVIDUAL PAVLOVAS





                           by Natasha Brown - owner of Brown’s Cakes


                These individual pavlovas are exquisite! They take a lot of mixing, and once baked need to be left
                in the oven overnight, so they need making in advance, but they are well worth the effort.


                Crisp on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside, they leave shop-bought meringue nests
                for dust!



                   Ingredients                                 For decoration

                   •  110g egg whites (from approximately       •  250ml double cream
                       4 medium eggs)                           •  1 tablespoon icing sugar
                   •  175g caster sugar                         •  ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
                   •  ½ tablespoon (5g) cornflour               •  Fruit of your choice
                   •  1 tablespoon lemon juice
                   •  1 teaspoon lemon zest from a dry
                       lemon




                Preparation:                                   Beat the egg whites at a medium speed
                                                               (not a fast speed as although this would
                Heat the oven to 150°C .                       be quicker, it can cause problems with the
                                                               meringue). Once the egg whites form soft
                Find something approximately 5 or 6cm in       peaks slow the whisk a little and beat in the
                diameter which you can draw round to           caster sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time. Make
                create 8 circles on a piece of baking paper.   sure the sugar is well mixed in before
                Repeat on a second sheet.                      adding the next spoonful. When all the
                                                               sugar is mixed in, turn the whisk back up to
                Place these sheets onto baking trays with      medium and beat the mixture until all the
                the pencil line on the back of the sheet so    sugar is dissolved. If you rub a little of the
                that when you bake the meringues the           mixture between your fingers, it should
                pencil doesn’t transfer onto the meringue.     feel smooth, not gritty.


                Make sure all your equipment is very clean     Mix the cornflour with the lemon juice to
                and dry as any water or grease can prevent     make a thin paste and add this along with
                your egg whites from thickening.               the lemon zest into the meringue mixture
                                                               and beat them together.                                                Bake the meringues for 40 minutes then         Spoon the cream onto the pavlovas and
                                                                                                                                      turn the oven off and leave them in the        decorate with chopped fruit. All fruit works

                For the meringue:                              Spoon the mixture to fill the circles on the                           oven to cool overnight.                        well with pavlovas so anything in season
                                                               baking paper and swirl the meringue to                                                                                goes.
                Separate the egg whites making sure that       create a dip in the centre.                                            To decorate:
                you don’t get any yolk in them. Weighing                                                                                                                             I love the physalis that I used on these as
                the egg whites is best as eggs vary in size    Turn the oven down to 110°C and place                                  Whip the cream at a medium speed. Once         they give such a dramatic finish to the little
                and weight.                                    the baking trays in the oven.                                          it’s thick add the icing sugar and vanilla and   desserts.
                                                                                                                                      beat until smooth and thick.




          REAL ROCHDALE - SUMMER 2023                       36                                                                                                                    37                    REAL ROCHDALE - SUMMER 2023
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