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Who says the only place for a marshmallow is on a s’more? Now, don’t get me wrong, I LOVE a good s’more, but there is something about light and refreshing fruit that really hits the spot!
My family and I love this season for all the amazing produce, and specifically the fruit. We have a one year old daughter who eats anything and everything! And always on the menu for her are a wide variety of different fruits. However, this weekend we decided to play around with a different base for the fruit, and get our fancy on!
There is something really rewarding about taking your egg whites all the way from their fresh, out of the shell state to the beautiful fluffy meringue! All those thousands of tiny bubbles beginning to form. And beneath all that beauty is a network of proteins trapping the air bubbles, that gives your meringue its structure and volume.
Meringue offers a blank canvas for so many different things. (Also made an amazing cake with a swiss meringue buttercream, but we’ll save that story for another time J) We chose to go with a classic pavlova. What makes this a little different is the addition of cornstarch in the meringue. With cornstarch, your baked meringue is delicate and crispy on the outside while chewy and soft on the inside. In addition, allowing it to cool and rest in the oven after baking overnight helps to avoid cracking in the pavlova.
From here, you can run wild! We liked to capitalize on summer fruits like berries and citrus! Atop the pavlova is an orange curd and whipped cream, then berries to garnish.
I love being able to get others involved to decorate and garnish with the fruit! The best part is, you can make it completely seasonal – switch up the berries for poached apples or pears in the fall! And change up the sauces that you serve it with. Try your hand at this delicate and delicious dessert and customize it however you like!
Pavlova
- 221 grams egg whites
- 3 grams cream of tartar
- 225 grams granulated sugar
- 10 grams cornstarch
- 4 grams white vinegar (or other flavors as desired)
- 4 grams vanilla bean paste
- Preheat your oven to 300 F.
- In a mixing bowl, add your egg whites and cream of tartar, and whip until foamy and frothy.
- Separately, combine the sugar and cornstarch.
- On medium speed, slowly rain in the sugar mixture (slow and consistent dusting). Continue raining until it has all been added. Turn off the mixer and add the vanilla bean and vinegar.
- Increase your speed to medium high and whip until stiff peaks form. The meringue will get very thick and stiff. You will be able to hold the bowl upside down without any of the meringue moving.
- Form the meringue into desired shape on a parchment lined sheet pan. You can form into one large one, around 9” around or individual minis, about 3-4”. Once you pile the meringue on, spread it out a little bit into your desired shape and depth. If the meringue is whipped to the stiff peak, it will not spread or grow during baking beyond where you form it.
- Bake until it is crispy on the outside and resembles a creamy light beige color, about 1 hour (could be less for smaller ones or more for a large one). Turn the oven off and allow to cool completely overnight or up to a few hours.
- When ready to assemble, gently remove off the parchment paper with a spatula. It should lift right off and on to your serving plate. Garnish as desired – crème anglaise, fruit curds or sauces, whipped cream, chocolate, fruit, etc.
- You can make the pavlova 1-2 days ahead and store the meringue lightly covered on your counter until ready to assemble and eat.
- Tips: It is important that all your tools are very clean before making meringue. Fat is the enemy of meringue and can cause it not to whip. Starting with egg whites at room temperature allow the meringue to whip more efficiently and have increased volume.