Pavlova Recipe

Hello everyone, today i decided to go off the usual beauty topic and instead wanted to show you what i have been baking recently and let you guys know how i make my pavlova's! Firstly, if you're not sure what a pavlova is, it is basically a crispy meringue outer shell with a marshmallow center that is topped with fresh cream and berries of you're choice. This recipe originates from Australia and is a super easy summer dessert but i make it all year round! 

What you will need:

• 3 large fresh egg whites
• 175 grams of caster sugar (6 oz)

Topping:

• 275 ml of whipping or double cream ( 10 fl oz)
• 350 grams of mixed fruits or berries of your choice
• A little icing sugar to dust

Preparations:

• Line a fairly large baking tray with baking paper

Method:

• Pre-heat your oven to gas mark 2, 150°C (300° F)
• Firstly, separate the egg whites from the yolk and place them in a large clean bowl and make sure to have the sugar measured and ready. Now whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks and you can turn the bowl upside down without them sliding out. Make sure not to over whisk the egg whites because if you do they may start to collapse.
• When they're ready, start to whisk in the sugar, approximately 25 g (1 oz) at a time, whisking after each addition until all of the sugar is in. Once this step is complete it should look something like the picture above.
• Now, take a teaspoon and spoon the meringue mixture on to the prepared baking sheet and form a circle about 8 inches or however you like. 
• Then, spoon round blobs of mixture next to each other so that they join up and form a circle, this next part is not essential but for my pavlova i like to create swirls on each blob just for decoration. To do this i use a skewer to create the soft peaks.
• Now, place the baking tray and meringue mixture into the oven and immediately turn the temperature down to gas mark 1, (140°C) and leave the pavlova to cook for an hour.

Once the pavlova is ready turn the heat off but leave it inside the oven until it is completely cold. Then you can start to whip up the cream and prepare the fresh berries for topping. Personally i like to use raspberry's and i finish by dusting lightly with icing sugar. 

Thankyou for reading, make sure to try it out!

xx