My family have become rather nonchalant about the recipes I create, sometimes not really giving much feedback. However I cannot tell you the excitement that this heart shaped pavlova caused! I mention in my recipes that this feeds 4-6, well it was devoured between the four of us and I think 10 year old Charlie had enough for 3 people.
Serves 4-6
INGREDIENTS
3 large eggs⠀⠀⠀
175g Caster Sugar⠀⠀⠀
125ml Double Cream⠀⠀⠀
50g icing sugar + 1 tsp for dusting⠀⠀⠀
¼ tsp vanilla paste ⠀
200g fresh fruit ⠀⠀⠀
METHOD
Preheat an oven to 150 degrees.
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Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Draw a heart on the paper.⠀⠀⠀
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Separate the eggs placing each white in a cup or small bowl before adding it to the whisking bowl. Discard the yolks or refrigerate them for another use.⠀⠀⠀
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Whisk the egg whites in a clean mixing bowl on a medium speed for 4-6 minutes until you have stiff peaks.⠀⠀⠀
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Continue mixing on a medium speed adding 1tbsp of the caster sugar at a time. Leave 5 seconds between adding each spoonful of sugar. The meringue mix should be stiff and glossy when all the sugar has been added.⠀⠀⠀
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Spoon the meringue mixture onto the parchment paper, making sure the perimeter is deeper than the centre.⠀⠀⠀
Place in the oven and immediately turn the oven down to 140 degrees. Cook for 1 hour then turn the oven off and leave the meringue to completely cool inside the oven. This helps the meringue to dry out. Don’t be tempted to open the oven. Sometimes I leave it there overnight.
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To make the Chantilly Cream whip the double cream and icing sugar to form soft peaks then add the vanilla paste or vanilla pod seeds and whisk for a minute more. Chill in the fridge until you are ready to serve.⠀⠀⠀
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Spoon the cream into the centre of the meringue and top with fruit. Finish with a dusting of icing sugar.