Red Berry Pavlova

Mmm…pavlova. One half crunchy, marshmallow-y meringue, the other half fluffy, decadent whipped cream — and all topped with fresh, juicy fruit and sweet fruit syrup….It’s no wonder that many consider this to be the national dish of New Zealand!

Pavlova is one of those things that, once you’ve tried it, you will never, ever forget. I fantasize about it. It is so light it is like eating clouds of fruity, delicious happiness (Hmm…maybe I do have emotional eating issues…), and yet it is totally indulgent and satisfying. This is the perfect summer dessert for sure, but is great anytime you want a light dessert, or something really special and sure to impress. And yet, it is super-easy! Seriously, this has to be one of the all-time easiest desserts to make, though looking at it you would never guess that.

The most traditional fruits used for pavlova are kiwi, strawberry, and passion fruit, but here I have used an assortment of red berries — namely raspberries, strawberries, and black cherry. (Okay, so cherries aren’t actually berries, but if you want to get technical, neither is a strawberry…I just used “Red Berry Pavlova” for convenience.) However, you could use any soft, juicy fruit. Some other excellent choices would be mango, papaya, blueberries, blackberries, peaches, or even pineapple. Similarly, the syrup can be made using any kind of unsweetened juice.

Ingredients:

For the meringue:

– 4 large egg whites

– 1 c. sugar

– 1 tsp. vanilla

– 1 tsp. white vinegar

– 1 tsp. cornstarch

For the whipped cream:

– 1 c. cold heavy whipping cream (or buy pre-made)

For the berries:

– 1 1/2 c. fresh raspberries, strawberries, cherries, or currants

– 1 c. unsweetened black cherry or pomegranate juice (it is very important that you use unsweetened juice here)

– 1/4 c. sugar

Directions:

1. Put unsweetened cherry or pomegranate juice into a small sauce pan and warm over medium heat. Bring just to a boil.

2. Add sugar to juice, stirring constantly, and return to a boil. Reduce heat to low and reduce by about half, stirring often (about 15 – 20 minutes). Remove from heat and allow to cool.

3. Preheat oven to 300F

4. Line a baking sheet with wax paper and trace a 9” circle onto paper -OR- the method I prefer is to cut a 9” circle of wax paper and place it into the bottom of a 9” lightly greased spring-form  cake tin

5. In the large bowl of an electric mixer beat egg whites until just beginning to stiffen, but not dry. Be sure not to get any pieces of shell in with your whites!

6. At medium-high speed, add your sugar to the egg whites one tablespoon full at a time while. Beat until stiff and creamy, and mixture forms stiff peaks. Do not over-beat.

7. Gently fold vanilla, vinegar, and cornstarch into meringue

8. Spread meringue evenly over your circle, or at bottom of spring-form pan

9. Bake meringue in 300F oven for one hour

10. Remove baked meringue from oven and allow to cool 15-20 minutes. Gently remove from tin/paper and place on a flat serving plate. Allow to continue cooling.

11. While meringue is cooling, whip 1 c. cold cream on high speed, until thick and fluffy

12. Spread whipped cream over cooled meringue

13. Top pavlova with fresh berries (or other fruit)

14. Drizzle cherry or pomegranate syrup over the top. Serve immediately.

*Although you can keep any leftover pavlova in your refrigerator (like there will be any left over! 🙂 ) it is something much better eaten straight away as the whipped cream and the syrup quickly begin to soften the meringue. If you don’t think you will eat the entire recipe when you make it, you can always divide your raw meringue into two portions to bake two mini pavlovas, assemble one, and save the other for later use.

Stone Fruit Pie with Lattice Top

On Sundays I always like to bake something for us to enjoy throughout the week. Today at the market I found the loveliest plums, apricots, and cherries. Normally so expensive, when these fruits are in season I try to use them as often as possible. Today they looked so good I bought plenty so that we will be able to snack on them throughout the week and so that I could also make a wonderful stone fruit pie.

I love making pies, and make them often, especially in the summer. However, someone — I won’t say who — is trying to watch their cholesterol so today I tried making a vegan version of this pie and substituted half of the white flour in the pie crust with whole wheat flour. Substituting the butter in the pie crust proved not to be as much of an issue as I had feared it might. The wheat flour on the other hand was. I usually prefer wheat — I think it has a more robust flavor. I guess that’s just the thing though: you don’t want your pastries to be “robust” — you want them to be light, and flaky, and decadent. Don’t get me wrong — the crust was still quite good, but it wasn’t nearly as indulgent and delicious as a white flour crust… This pie filling is to-die-for though — just the right balance of sweet and tart — but you can use this basic recipe for a pie with any summer fruit (berries, peaches, etc.) My philosophy with fresh, seasonal fruits and vegetables is to do as little to them as possible: simpler is always better with quality ingredients!

Stone Fruit Pie

Ingredients:

– 1 Pie Crust (See my preceding blog entry — “Perfect Pie Crust”)
– 2 cups pitted quartered cherries
– 2 cups pitted sliced plums
– 2 cups pitted sliced apricots (fresh, not dried)
– 1/2 cup sugar
– 3 Tbsp. cornstarch (this is what will bind the sugars from your fruits so that your pie isn’t runny and your crust doesn’t get soggy)
– 1 egg (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F

2. Make pie dough

3. While dough is chilling, remove pits from fruits and slice. Put fruit pieces in a large bowl

4. Add sugar and cornstarch to fruit and mix well

5. Let fruit sit

6. Roll out one half of your pie crust and fit into a 9” pie pan

7. Make the lattice top for your pie (See preceding blog “How to Make a Lattice Top for a Pie Crust” for detailed instructions)

8. Your fruit should now look a bit syrupy — in other words, it should look like pie filling 🙂

9. Pour filling into pie crust

10. Place lattice on top of pie

11. Tear excess ends from lattice

12. Fold overhanging pieces of bottom crust over lattice ends

13. If you’d like to use an egg wash (I did not since I was making vegan pie today) simply beat an egg with a little bit of milk or water and coat lattice using a pastry brush. This will add a little bit of shine to your crust but is purely aesthetic and does not affect the taste.

14. Bake in oven at 400F for 50 minutes. Check after 35-40 minutes — if crust looks too dark cover with aluminum foil and continue baking

15. Remove from oven

16. Let cool for at least 20 minutes.

17. Slice, top with ice cream of whipped cream if you desire, and enjoy

And about 30 seconds later….