Easy peasy pavlova that’ll impress your guests

Pavlova must be one of the most beautiful desserts in the world. The fantastic thing is that it’s dead easy to make, and it never seizes to impress my guests.

It is best to make it the night before, and just quickly assembly it when it is time for dessert. Then it only takes a minute to whip the cream and arrange the fruit. Anyone can do it!

Always pick fruit that is in season, that way your pavlova will be more economical and it will look sensational. A firm favourite is to use strawberries, but other fruit like blueberries, blackcurrants, raspberries, gooseberries, pomegranates, kiwi’s, black and green seedless grapes, diced mango, sliced banana and granadilla pulp make beautiful colourful pavlova toppings. You can also use nuts like flaked almonds to make it extra special, and dust the final product with icing sugar.

Here’s how I make a really easy pavlova that has a puffy soft centre, but a delicately crispy outside layer, topped with whipped cream and fruit.

Ingredients:

• 6 x extra large egg whites
• 500 g castor sugar
• 3 teaspoons white vinegar or lemon juice
• 3 teaspoons cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons vanilla essence
• 250 ml cream, whipped untill just stiff (not too stiff)
• roughly 2 handfuls of seasonal fruit
• 50 ml berry coulis (or make your own by whizzing 2 tablespoons fruit with 1 tablespoon icing sugar)

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 150 degrees Celsius.
2. Whisk egg whites in a big, clean bowl (with an electric whisk) untill stiff peaks form.
3. Gradually add castor sugar to egg whites, small amounts at a time, untill fully incorporated and the mixture is stiff and glossy.
4. Add vinegar, cornstarch and vanilla and whisk untill thoroughly mixed.
5. On a big oven pan lined with baking paper, shape pavlova mixture into a round shape and flatten the top, very much like a cake (draw a circle on your baking paper if necessary). The mixture will rise a bit to the sides, so leave enough space.
6. Bake in the oven at 150 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes, then turn down heat to 120 degrees Celsius and bake for another hour.
7. Turn oven off, and leave to cool overnight without opening the oven door.
8. Remove pavlova from the oven the next morning, and keep in an airtight container untill ready to use.
9. Remove baking paper from bottom of pavlova and carefully put it on a serving dish (it will have a few cracks, but it is supposed to look like that!)
10. Cover with freshly whipped cream and arrange fruit on top of cream.
11. Drizzle with berry coulis and sprinkle with nuts or dust with icing sugar.
12. Slice and serve immediately! (the cream and fruit will make the meringue base soggy over time)

Tip: Another option would be to cover the pavlova with a mixture of fresh whipped cream (250 ml) and double cream Greek yoghurt (250 ml). Then cover with sliced fresh figs, chopped mixed nuts, and drizzle with honey. Sublime when in season!