Sweet Saturday - Pavlova

I'm a sucker for meringues but don't have them as much as I used too. When I lived in Ireland  I would go to the local bakery to have my lunch and 99 out of a 100 times it would be a brown sandwich with tuna and corn followed by a meringue. Well 2 meringues stuck together by a dollop of cream and a little dot of red fruit jelly on top....hhhmmmmmm

I tried making meringues myself before but to no great success and I have not tried since. The meringues they sell here are just not the same, so today I will venture to make a meringue once more as part of pavlova.

PAVLOVA

For the meringue base:

• 5 egg whites
• 100 gr of icing sugar
• 120 gr of fine casting sugar
• 1 sachet vanilla sugar or some essence
• 1 teaspoon of balsamico vinegar
• 1 tablespoon of corn starch/flour

For the topping:

• 250ml cream
• sugar to taste
• 250-500 gr of red fruit (may be frozen)

Preheat the oven (not fan, just under and bottom heat) to 130°C.

Wisk the egg whites with the sugars, than add the vinegar, keep wisking and when it starts to get ticker add the corn flour. Keep wisking until you can pull nice peaks that stay in shape from it. 

Cover a baking tray wit baking parchement and spoon the mixtures unto this, roughly in a 20 cm diameter. I was amazed by it's lovely silk sheen, which I could not tell so well when it was till in the bowl.

Pull up the sides to give it more of a base shape and bake for 1-1,5 hours. I switched the oven of at 1 hour 15 min when it had a tiny bit of colour. Leave in the oven with the door closed too cool.

Whip the cream with sugar to taste, add vanilla or cinnamon for an extra touch. 

Transfer the cooled meringue unto a nice big plate.

Spoon the whipped cream on top of it and finish with the fresh or defrosted red fruits, defrosted raspberries in my case. By than everyone will be in the kitchen eye-balling this feast of fluffiness. I think I may be proud and say this time the meringue worked out fine, light as a feather, lots of taste and just perfect with raspberries and cinnamon cream.

Bon apetit!