Kiwi Pavlova

When we have a visitor staying from overseas there a few things that we feel it is our kiwi duty to expose visitors to. Feijoa will be one of them, pineapple lumps, L&P. Another will be the world famous Kiwi Pavlova.

Interestingly a previous visitor from Canada's description of Pavlova was part of the inspiration for the name of this blog - 'Sugar Pie'. It was not a complimentary description in the context it was used, needless to say I was less than impressed.

Of course with this recipe using so many egg whites I will be forced to make something that uses egg yolks soon...it might just have to be creme brûlée!

MUM'S PAVLOVA

4 egg whites 

1 and half teaspoons vinegar
pinch salt 

1 and half teaspoons cornflour
1 cup sugar

1. Beat egg whites and salt for 3 minutes.
2. Add sugar gradually and beat til sugar blends in.
3. Fold in vinegar and cornflour.
4. Place on baking paper on tray. Don't spread much.
5. Bake for 1 and half hours at 130 (leave oven on all the time)

I usually double the recipe and only give it an extra 10 minutes.
20cm diameter uncooked finishes up as 25cm cooked.

Mini Pavlovas - spiked with Yuzu

Mini Pavlovas

This is a family friendly dessert that everyone is bound to love. We make big pavlovas lots and making individual pavs was a bit of an experiment - it worked well!


Its really important to beat the egg white and sugar mixture for a long time - up to 10 minutes to make sure the sugar is totally dissolved. You can test it by rubbing a little bit of mixture between your fingers to see if there is any grit - sugar.



Yuzu is an Asian citrus with a really intense tart flavour. We had a packed of freezed dried Yuzu juice flakes which we had purchased at Sous Chef. You could also use other freeze dried fruits to add of extra bit of flavour. 
We mixed the Yuzu in with the pavlova mixture right at the end and it turned out really well. The tart flavour was balanced well with the sweetness of the sugar.

- Isabella


Ingredients
1 cup Caster sugar
5 Eggs, approx 4 eggs, for 150ml of egg whites
2 Tbsp Cornflour
2 tsp White vinegar
Freeze dried Yuzu or other fruit- optional 

1½ cups Double cream
1 to dust Icing sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 150C.

2. Place the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk until stiff peaks form. 

3. Gradually add the sugar, whisking well until stiff and glossy.

4. Add the cornflour and vinegar and whisk to combine.

5. Spoon 1/2 cup of the mixture at a time onto baking trays lined with non-stick baking paper. (Or...Cut a small hole in a corner of a snap lock bag and spoon in the mixture, use it as a piping bag to pipe it on the baking paper tray)

6. Reduce oven to 120C, place the trays in the oven and bake for 1 hour. Turn the oven off and allow the pavlovas to cool completely in the oven.

7. Spoon cream over the pavlovas, top with raspberries and dust with icing sugar to serve.


Tip: You can store leftover pavlovas in an airtight container for 3-4 days.

Di-Nana's Pavlova

This one is a family favourite - Isabella.

This recipe comes from my Nana who I call Di-Nana - her name is Diana.
We make this because of our ongoing supply of eggs, laid by our chickens.
We tried something different in the picture and made it a different shape from the usual one. It has been decorated by edible flowers from my garden.

The pavlova recipe comes from my original Wild Yeast and Sugar Pie blog.

MUM'S PAVLOVA

4 egg whites 

1 and half teaspoons vinegar
pinch salt 

1 and half teaspoons cornflour
1 cup sugar

1. Beat egg whites and salt for 3 minutes.
2. Add sugar gradually and beat til sugar blends in.
3. Fold in vinegar and cornflour.
4. Place on baking paper on tray. Don't spread much.
5. Bake for 1 and half hours at 130 (leave oven on all the time)

I usually double the recipe and only give it an extra 10 minutes.
20cm diameter uncooked finishes up as 25cm cooked.