Pavlova – White Plum & Brown Sugar

Tuesday, 14 Apr 09

So where’s M?, we asked.

Don’t ask, she said.

So we didn’t, and offered sweet meringue and thickened cream and hugs to soothe the heart. Pavlova is her favourite, and it was just after her birthday, after all.

There’s something about pavlova that incites tensions in my family (and between Aussies and New Zealanders…). Some of us love it, some of us hate it. Perhaps it’s the contrasts. Heavy heart clogging cream, and fresh fruits. Bubbly marshmallowy interior and crisp meringue. Overbearing sweetness and…well…no real contrasts there. Admittedly, up til this week, we’d only really tried storebought pavs, which although satisfying some, become boring after a while. So I jumped at the chance of making it from scratch for an Easter party, and wanted to use some egg yolks in a creme brulee (which has not been made).

Unfortunately, being the long weekend, we didn’t have any berries on hand, and all the stores were closed, so it turned into a matter of improvisation in the end – some white plums sitting in the fridge, and a generous hand with the vanilla bean paste, and we were good to go.

Recipe

For the meringue:

4 egg whites
150gm caster sugar
50gm brown sugar
1tsp cornflour
1tsp white vinegar
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pinch salt

Preheat oven to 150 degrees Celcius. Whip egg whites with salt until soft peaks form. Add caster sugar slowly in a steady stream, whisking until firm peaks form and the mixture is thick and glossy. Add brown sugar, whisk until incorporated. Fold in corn flour, white vinegar and vanilla paste gently.

Scoop onto a baking paper lined tray, forming a 30 cm round. Place in oven, cook for 50 mins or until top and sides are dry to the touch. Leave in oven with door partly ajar until completely cooled.

For the syrup:

I’m horrible and eyeballed this, but basically, about 70 grams of brown sugar and the same of caster sugar, 1/2 a cup of water, the juice of half a lime and 1/2 tsp of vanilla bean paste went onto the stove and was reduced to a syrup.

For the cream:

300ml thickened cream
3 tbsp brown sugar

Whip thickened cream with brown sugar until completely dissolved and at soft peak.

Assembling:

Dollop whipped cream over the pavlova. Slice white plums thinly and arrange neatly on top. Drizzle with vanilla speckled syrup.

I have to say, I was uncertain as to how this would turn out. I think some element of tanginess would have worked well to cut through the sweetness, perhaps some raspberries next time, and roasting or poaching the plums to soften them a little would have enhanced it. But it was deliciously caramelly and creamy, and the flavours all melded nicely, even the next day, though the meringue was no longer crisp. I can’t wait until next summer – peaches fresh from the farm would probably make this perfect.

3 Comments

1. I’ve never tried a pavlova with brown sugar before. Does it make a difference? I agree about the tangy fruit being a good contrast – passionfruit is a favourite of mine.

   Author’s Note: I think brown sugar makes everything more raw and intense and really brings out the caramel notes. Give it a try sometime, I quite enjoyed it

   Comment by Arwen from Hoglet K — April 14, 2009 @ 11:13 pm

2. I loved the first photo! Though I’m, trying to figure out what it is :P I love the idea of pavlova but I just can’t excited by meringue. Still…yours look fab and love the idea of brown sugar (honestly brown sugar makes all recipes better!).

   Comment by Karen — April 15, 2009 @ 12:55 am

3. The first photo is mind-Blastinng! and yummmm love pavolllaa and brown sugar ^^!!

   Comment by FFichiban — April 15, 2009 @ 2:51 am

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