I’m just going to be completely honest. I’m slumped over my computer right now, craving a burger. It’s 1am.
I’m approaching day 5 at work and still have 5 more to go. I’m dying at the prospect. I’ve been putting off doing my washing for a week, I have no food in the house and I keep falling asleep fully clothed.
Basically, I’m being a stereotypical 20-something who really doesn’t have her life together right now.
I can’t express how much I want fast food. I just need a burger. I need mouth watering savoury food. Or just a massive steak. I would then like to fall asleep with my full belly in clean soft duvet covers please.
Even though I can’t stop thinking about soft brioche buns and barbecue sauce, I can definitely spare a thought for these petite humble Pavlova’s. However much I want savoury food, I’ll always have space for something sweet.
Since guest posting for Arlo & Jacob a few weeks ago with my Macerated Berry and Nectarine Pavlova, I couldn’t stop thinking about mini versions of the Aussie dessert. Theres just something about the combination of crisp meringue and soft whipped cream that I can’t resist. The meringue is best when the outside is snow-white and crisp while the inside remains mallow and soft. This accompanied by sweetened double cream and sticky, tangy cherry compote would leave everyone hankering for a portion.
Ingredients – Makes 4 individual pavlovas
- 2 medium egg whites
- 70g caster sugar
- 70g icing sugar
- pinch of cream of tartar
Cherry Blueberry Compote
- 350g cherries (weight before being stoned)
- 100g blueberries
- 3 tbsp. caster sugar
- 1/2 lemon, juice
- 1 tbsp. cornflour
Soft whipped Vanilla Cream
- 300g double cream
- 30g caster sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
Method
For the meringue:
- Pre-heat the oven to 100°C and have a baking tray ready with a sheet of baking parchment.
- Place your egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer (or you can do this with an electric whisk.) Mix together the caster sugar, icing sugar and cream of tartar in another bowl. Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks and gradually add in the sugars. Once all of the sugar is added, continue to whisk the meringue for a minute until it reaches stiff peaks.
- Place a blob of meringue mix on the corners of the baking tray to stick the baking parchment down. Spoon the meringue into four nests onto the baking tray. Bake in the oven for 1 1/2 hours, or until the outside of the meringue is crisp and the inside is cooked but soft. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely on the tray.
- You can make these in advance and kept in an airtight container up to 1 week ahead.
For the cherry and blueberry compote:
- Stone the cherries and cut in half. Place these in a saucepan with the blueberries, caster sugar and lemon juice. Cook the fruit on medium heat for a few minutes until the juice has come out of the berries creating a sauce. Once the fruit has softened; take a few tbsp of the juice and stir it together with the cornflour to make a slurry.
- Add this back into the pan and cook out for a few minutes until thickened and shiny.
- Pour into a bowl, cover and refrigerate until cool.
Assembling and making the soft whipped cream:
- Whisk together the double cream, caster sugar and vanilla until it reaches soft peaks. Fold some of the juice from the compote into the cream if you’d like a ripple effect.
- Serve the cooled meringue nest with a dollop of cream and compote.
