Hey, Steemit! Long time no see 馃槥 hopefully, it is going to change and I'll start posting more often again, winter's coming, so the chances are pretty high haha. I decided to jump back in with a recipe, haven't posted those in a while. It's almost that time of the year to start eating sweets again, hope you're ready!
So Pavlova. How many of you are actually familiar with this dish? I have seen photos of this beautiful dessert a lot of times, for years . . . but only now got around to making one and tasting it. It was good, definitely something you already have to like 馃槀
Usually, it is served with a layer of whipped cream topped with fresh berries, but I decided to skip heavy cream in favor of lemon curd.
Pavlova is a meringue-based dessert named after the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova. It is a meringue dessert with a crisp crust and soft, light inside, usually topped with fruit and whipped cream.
The dessert is believed to have been created in honour of the dancer either during or after one of her tours to Australia and New Zealand in the 1920s.
Thanks, Wikipedia. Now with a little history lesson out of the way, let's get to it 馃槈
Ingredients
- 4 eggs;
- 2-3 lemons;
- 7 oz fresh blackberries (or any other berries) for serving.
for the lemon curd:
- 4 egg yolks;
- 3 oz butter;
- 2/3 cup sugar;
- 3-4 oz freshly squeezed lemon juice;
- lemon zest from 2 lemons;
for the meringue:
- 4 egg whites;
- 1 cup sugar;
- a pinch of salt;
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract;
- 1 tbsp cornstarch;
- 1 tbsp lemon juice.
Directions
Preheat your oven to 350 F.
Place the egg whites and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer. Start beating the egg whites at a medium speed until soft peaks start forming, slowly increase the speed. With the mixer on, add in the sugar, a little bit at a time, beat at high speeds for about 10 minutes or until stiff peaks appear.
Sift in cornstarch, add 1 tbsp of lemon juice, vanilla extract and fold in with a spatula or use your mixer.Line your baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the meringue on top, creating a rough circle. Reduce the heat to 260 F and bake Pavlova for 1 1/2 hours. Turn the oven off and allow the dessert cool completely.
In a medium sized saucepan lightly whisk egg yolks and sugar, add in lemon juice, zest and soft butter. Cook at a medium heat for approximately 7-10 minutes until the mixture thickens, reduce the heat to low if needed, whisk frequently.
Additionally, you can strain lemon curd if you like. Let cool completely.Transfer the meringue disk on a serving dish, spread lemon curd on top and decorate with fresh berries or toasted nuts. Meringue is going to be crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, so be mindful about the weight of toppings because they may fall in. Just a fair warning.
Enjoy!
artwork by kookyan