Most people in my circle LOVE pavlova. Me? I prefer baking it, putting it together and watching people devour it. But that’s how I feel about all my Kitchen Kreations (see how I got all Kardashian there? Mainly because I was after visual alliteration). Watching someone express their enjoyment of a dish I’ve made brings about feelings of warmth and happiness.
Anyway, back to the pavlova. It was my best friend’s birthday and I decided to make one and take it to her. Any excuse to bake really. Rather than make the usual single layer topped with cream and fruit, I decided to stack it to make a double layer. I filled the centre with crème patisserie (that I would make from the egg yolks so that there would be no waste) and strawberries and then topped it with whipped cream and fruit.
It turned out well, I think. Everyone seemed to enjoy it.
Here’s a pic of the end product:
Pavlova
What I used:
6 egg whites
375ml castor sugar
3ml cream of tartar
How it’s made:
Preheat oven to 120°. Beat the egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form. Add castor sugar 1 tablespoon at a time and until you’re left with a glossy meringue mixture. Spoon or pipe mixture onto greased baking paper and place in preheated oven and bake for an hour. Turn the oven off but leave the pavlova inside until the oven has cooled down. Tip: Make sure your equipment (beater bars of your mixer, bowl etc) is clean and dry. Also, there should be NO EGG YOLK in your whites after you’ve separated or they will not go stiff.
Crème patisserie
What I used:
6 egg yolks
250ml castor sugar
90ml cornflour
1 litre milk
How I made it:
Heat milk on the stovetop. Beat egg yolks, sugar and cornflour until you feel no grainy sugary bits. Pour a small amount of the milk onto the egg yolk mixture and beat it in. Then add that to the heated milk. Stir (I used a whisk) constantly while bring to the boil. Allow to thicken before turning off the heat. Pour into a bowl and immediately cover with cling wrap to prevent a skin forming. Allow to cool. I placed mine in the fridge for a few hours.
Assembling the pavlova
Putting the whole thing together was easy. I spread the crème onto the base layer (I didn’t use all. I’ll do another post in which I tell you what I did with the leftovers), added chopped strawberries and a drizzle of granadilla pulp. Then topped with the other pavlova and topped that with strawberries, kiwi and granadilla pulp.
Gadija says
this looks awesome, thinking of maybe trying it our for eid, #brave
redlilly85 says
Thanks Gadija. You should try it. It’s not hard. Promise. And let me know how it turns out.
LFFL says
I’ve never heard of pavlova before. It looks amazing!
redlilly85 says
It’s pretty much a meringue. Made in the same way. You should try it. It’s always a winning dessert.
Zainab says
I was always scared of making pavlova and just thinking I’d flop the whole thing. This recipe is great and easy. Maybe just add some tips about egg temperature and speed to beat at because that does always confuse me and I forget. Great recipe definitely worth trying