Successful Second Attempt

Last week, I tweeted about it and I share the photo in my Facebook. We fell in love with it after we had our very first bite at Serai in Empire Gallery. The crispy yet soft meringue topped with whipped cream and the sweet sour taste of the fresh fruits is very hard to forget. The Pavlova is a dessert originated from Australia was said to be created to honour the ballerina Anna Pavlova when she visited the country.

Since then, I have been promising H to bake him a Pavlova, a promise that I haven't been able to materialize before he left. I am not an avid baker so baking a meringue would be a challenge to me. Since my first attempt failed, I am more determined than ever to make it work (in Tim Gunn's voice) and I did! Ok, perfectionist trait alert!

This is the recipe that I use taken from The Joy of Baking:

For meringue base:

4 large egg whites
1 cup (200g) (superfine) castor sugar - 
Personally, I find that 1 cup of sugar is tad too sweet, you might want to reduce it to 3/4 cup
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1/2 tablespoon corn starch (corn flour)

Topping:

1 cup (240ml) heavy whipping cream
11/2 tablespoons (20g) granulated white sugar (or to taste)
I used about 1 tablespoon of castor sugar cos I don't like my whipped cream to be too sweet
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Method summary:
For full method please go to the link

Preheat the oven to 130 degree Celcius (C). I heated the oven to 250 C before adjusting it back to 130 C seconds after meringue is inserted in the oven. The idea is to have the meringue to get the "heat shock" so that the exterior will be crispy. This tips is given out by Nigella Lawson.

Draw a circle on your baking sheet. About 7-8 inch. This will guide how big you want your meringue base to be.

Beat the egg whites until soft peak is formed. Add in sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time. Beat until stiff peak is formed. Make sure that all the sugar added has dissolved. To test, rub the white eggs sugar mixture between your fingers. If it feels gritty, sugar has not dissolved so keep beating until it feels smooth. Add in the vanilla extract. Sprinkle the vinegar and corn starch over the mixture. With (rubber) spatula, gentle fold in. Don't stir as it will "ruined" the lightness and air trapped inside the egg whites.

Pile up the mixture inside the circle drawn onto the baking sheet, smoothing the edges and make sure the edges are slightly higher than the center. Bake for 60-75 minutes or until the outside is dry and is a very pale cream colour. Turn the oven off and leave the door slightly ajar to cool off the meringue. The outside of the meringue is firm to touch but as it cools down you'll get cracking and you'll see that its soft marshmallow-like on the inside. That's how you know you've baked a perfect meringue.

Whip the cream (I like to use hand whip, easier for me to control the speed) until soft peak forms. Sweeten with sugar and add in vanilla extract.

Pavlova - Pre-assembly

Mound the whipped cream onto the center of the meringue and arrange fruits randomly. My favourite fruits for pavlova are blueberry, raspberry, strawberry and pomegranate seeds. You can also use lychee, kiwi, mango, passion fruit or any imaginable fruits.

Pavlova - Imma proud momma!

Selamat mencuba! And do inform me of your successful stories!