Perfectly crisp on the outside with a chewy marshmallow centre, this is our go-to Pavlova recipe. Serve it with a generous dollop of vanilla bean whipped cream and plenty of fresh fruit!
Serves: 8-10
Prep: 30 min
Cook: 1 hour 15 min
Ingredients
3/4 cup (180ml) egg whites (approximately 6)
1/4 cup (60ml) cold water
2 cups (440g) caster sugar
1 tsp Hansells Vanilla Bean Paste
2 tsp white vinegar
2 heaped tbsp cornflour
To Serve
1 cup (250ml) thickened cream
1/4 cup (40g) icing sugar, sifted
1 tsp Hansells Vanilla Bean Paste
300g fresh kiwis and strawberries
Method
- Place oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat to 110°C (fan forced). Draw a circle on a piece of baking paper using a 20cm cake tin as a guide. Place baking paper, marked side down, on a baking tray.
- Place egg whites in a large mixing bowl and use an electric mixer with a whisk attachment to whisk on medium or medium-high speed until foamy. Add salt, vinegar and cornflour and whisk on medium or medium-high speed until soft peaks form (this will take about 1 minute).
- With motor running, add sugar a spoonful at a time, whisking well on medium speed after each addition, until sugar has dissolved and mixture is very thick and glossy (this will take 4-5 minutes). Add Vanilla Bean Paste and whisk to combine. Use a spatula to stir meringue mixture to ‘loosen’ it slightly (this will remove excess air and give it a smoother, less ‘foamy’ texture).
- Spoon meringue mixture onto lined tray and use the back of the spoon to spread it to fill the marked circle. Make a well in centre and build up sides, creating swirls or smoothing surface as desired.
- Bake 1 hour 15 minutes, until meringue is crisp and hard to touch, but not coloured.
- When pavlova is cooked, turn off oven, leave door slightly ajar and allow cool it completely in oven (this will take about 2 hours).
Once meringue is cool, combine cream, icing sugar and Vanilla bean paste and beat until soft peaks form. Add to top of meringue and serve with fresh fruit.
