Pavlova is a textured paradise. A meringue-based dessert often filled with cream and berries. I mean… what more could you want? The meringue is crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside, the chantilly (or whipped) cream adds to the silky sweetness and the berries - be they fresh or compote - offer a delicious bite to round it all out. 

This recipe calls for a French meringue, piped into multiple baskets - shaped to your heart's content, filled with freshly made chantilly cream, and topped with homemade cherry-berry compote. It’s the treat to show off some of those baking skills to your friends and family, while also making you look a lot fancier than the effort of the recipe effort really requires.

So, if you want to change up your dessert table, why not get “fancy” and whip up some individual pavlova baskets? Here’s how to make them:

Equipment:

• Piping bag

• Baking tray

• Parchment paper

• Spatula

• Spoon

Ingredients: (One recipe each)

FRENCH MERINGUE

• 100g (approx. 3 eggs) Egg whites*, room temperature

• ½ tsp Corn Starch

• 1 tsp white wine vinegar*

• 100g (approx. ½ cup) Granulated Sugar

• 100g (a little over ¾ cup) Powdered Sugar, sifted

CHANTILLY CREAM

• 200g (¾ cup) - Heavy Cream (Double Cream)

• 20g (2 ¾  tbsp)  - Powdered Sugar, sifted

• ½ tsp - Vanilla Extract

CHERRY-BERRY COMPOTE

• 25g Cherries, frozen

• 75g Raspberries, frozen

• 50g, Sugar

• ½ Zest of an orange

• ½ orange juiced

Directions:

FRENCH MERINGUE

In a clean bowl* with space for growth, place the egg whites.

With your mixer on low speed, beat your egg whites just until they are nice and frothy, with no loose liquid at the bottom.

Add in your vinegar and cornstarch - along with any additional flavorings you desire - and beat until medium-soft peaks form (aka still moves around in the bowl, not completely stiff).

A few spoonfuls at a time, add your caster sugar, beat, and repeat until all the sugar is added. You should have glossy, stiff peaks at this point. If you want to test your work, you can flip the bowl upside down and nothing should fall out.

Sift in your powdered sugar and using a metal spoon, gently fold in the sugar until just combined. Be very careful at this stage to not knock out any excess air from the meringue.

CHANTILLY CREAM

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Using a hand whisk, manually whisk from side to side or up and down. This whips without the extra effort of going round and round!

Your cream should become shiny and glossy as you whip.

Once cream becomes decently thick - still “soft” but not liquid - use a spatula to lightly stir for final thickness.

Place into a piping bag and store in the fridge to cool.

CHERRY-BERRY COMPOTE

Place frozen cherries and berries into a pot or frying pan over high heat, until juices start to release. Stir occasionally.

Add sugar and zest, and stir.

Once the mixture begins to thicken, add orange juice and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat to low and thicken for about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. The compote will thicken as it cools so don’t over thicken in the pan.

Remove from heat and pour into a bowl to cool to room temperature before covering and placing in the fridge to cool completely.

ASSEMBLY

Preheat oven to 100C or 212F convection (120C or 248F non-convection)

Once you’ve made your French meringue, gently place the mixture into a piping bag (with or without a nozzle).

On a parchment-covered baking tray, pipe small shaped nests, no more than three layers up (to avoid collapse - remember French meringue is very delicate at this stage)

Gently place in the oven and bake for 45-90 minutes, depending on the thickness. Start at 45 minutes.

To check for doneness, gently squeeze the sides of one of your baskets. If firm, gently try to lift/peel from the parchment paper. When there is no resistance, they are ready

Turn your oven off but leave the baked meringues in the oven with the door slightly cracked, to cool for one hour

For assembly, pipe your cooled chantilly cream into one of your room-temperature meringues. I like to not only fill the basket but pipe a little extra above, so there is a lip of sorts to place my compote. Once you have your cream in the nest, gently top it with your room-temperature compote. 

Enjoy!

Notes:

• Make sure all of your compote is completely to room temperature before topping your meringue. Otherwise, you risk melting it and your cream and ruining your work. Patience!

• The was adapted from a recipe I received during my patisserie course in Scotland from Chef Ashley

Don’t forget to tag @accentgolden on social with pictures of your creations! I love to see what you’re baking.

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