The Pavlova From Down Under Recipes

THE PAVLOVA FROM DOWN UNDER

Steps:

• Use a pencil to mark the outline of a 10" disc on a piece of parchment paper. Turn the paper over and lay it in a half sheet pan, then set aside.
• Add the egg whites with a pinch of salt to a dry, clean bowl of your stand mixer. Using the whip attachment, begin whipping the egg whites to create a French meringue.
• Once they have become very frothy and starting to turn white, add the sugar 1/4 cup at a time until it is all incorporated and has formed very stiff peaks. Next add the vinegar, vanilla and sifted cornstarch and continue beating until it is incorporated.
• Pour this out onto your parchment paper and use an offset spatula to spread out the meringue. Bake this in a preheated 250 degrees F oven for 1 hour, and then turn off the oven and allow the meringue to cool completely before removing from the oven.
• Once cooled, whip the cream with the powdered sugar and vanilla to stiff peaks. Feel free to add more sugar if you prefer. Top the entire Pavlova with the whipped cream.
• In the meantime, rinse your berries and set aside. Add the apple jelly to a microwave safe bowl and heat it until melted.
• Toss this into the berries and add them on top of the whipped cream. The apple jelly gives that beautiful shine to the berries and is perfect to use here. It seals and glazes the fruit beautifully. Serve immediately.
• Note: You can make the meringue disc ahead of time and then decorate it right before service. If you put the disc together with the whipped cream too far in advance and refrigerate, the meringue will get soggy. So make sure to prepare the disc the day before and allow it to cool completely, then cover and store at room temperature until you are ready to put the cake together.

CHOCOLATE PAVLOVA WITH RASPBERRIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 275 degrees, placing rack at the center of your oven.
• Place an 8 or 9 inch cake pan on a sheet of parchment paper and trace around the rim using a pen. Place the parcment on a cookie sheet penciled side down - facing the baking sheet.
• If you are using regular sugar, place it into the bowl of a food processor and blend for 30 seconds to get a finer granule. Remeasure out 1 1/4 cups and discard any excess.
• Using a mixer, whisk the egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue to beat on medium-high speed until they hold soft peaks. Add the sugar, a tablespoon at a time, and continue to beat until the meringue holds stiff peaks. Gently fold in the vinegar and vanilla extract. Sift the cocoa powder and cornstarch over the top of the meringue and, using a large spatula, fold together. Lastly, fold in the chopped chocolate.
• Gently spread the meringue inside the circle drawn on the parchment paper, smoothing the edges. While spreading create a SMALL indentation in the center so that there will be a natural hollow for the raspberries and whipped cream.
• Bake for about 1 hour to 1 1/4 hours or until the outside is dry. There will be small cracks on the surface but the center will still be soft and gooey.) Shut the oven off, leave the door slightly open, and allow the meringue cool completely in the oven.
• Just before serving gently place the meringue on a serving plate. Whip the cream until soft peaks form. Sweeten with the sugar and then mound the softly whipped cream into the center of the meringue. Arrange the raspberries on top of the cream.
• Serve immediately.