Pavlova

This one is all down to my mum :) she's the Pavlova expert and taught me this

WARNING long cooking time! 3hrs if possible and even better leave overnight.

The secret is to use 1 medium egg white to 2oz sugar (1oz caster and 1oz icing)

For a small Pavlova use 3 eggs, slightly larger 4 eggs, the one in the pic is a smaller one and was about 10" across, depends how thick you want your meringue.

• 3 eggs or 4 eggs
• 3oz (85g) or 4oz (110g)caster sugar
• 3oz (85g) or 4oz (110g) icing sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vinegar  (leave out if you want the meringue fluffy inside not chewy)
• 1 teaspoon cornflour  (leave out if you want the meringue fluffy inside not chewy)
• 1 284ml carton double cream
• 1 punnet strawberries (can use any fruit you choose, good ones are passion fruit, pomegranate, kiwi, raspberry, blackberries etc)

Seperate the whites from the egg yolks, the whites only are needed for this, you can use the yolks to make chocolate fondants ;)
Add the 3 or 4 egg whites to a bowl or stand mixer and add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice (means you can beat the eggs as much as you want), whisk on a high setting until they form soft peaks and are very white with minute bubbles. The best way to tell they are done (my mum always did this when she taught baking at my primary school) is tip the bowl upside down (preferably over someone's head) if they start to slide they are not done.
Once they are ready start to whisk in the caster sugar only, 1oz at a time, whisking for a long time after each addition to make sure the sugar is properly combines and dissolved. Once all the caster sugar is combined, stop whisking and use a metal spoon to fold in the icing sugar.
Then whilst folding add the teaspoon of vinegar (makes the meringue a little chewy) and the teaspoon of cornflour (for crisp breakable meringue don't add these).
Put the oven on at 100 degrees, the aim is to dry the meringue out, not cook it.
Place a sheet of baking paper on a baking tray, using about 2/3rds of the mixture spoon onto the baking sheet and flatten out to form a round shape about 8-10" in diameter (small) or 10-12" (large). The using the remaining mixture spoon round blobs next to each other so that they join up to form a circle all around the edge, giving you a high border. You can use a skewer into the centre of each one to pull a point out for decoration. If you're feeling creative heart shapes are pretty easy too!
Place the baking sheet in the oven for as long as you have got! 1hr minimum and preferably 3-4hrs. If the meringue seems to be going golden brown then prop the oven door open using a wooden spoon to cool the over more. After 3hrs turn the oven off and leave overnight if possible.

Next whip up the cream using a whisk until stiff and forms peaks. Chop up half of the strawberries and put into bowl with cream and mix. Put cream and strawberry mix into centre of meringue.

Chop leftover strawberries lengthways and arrange on top as decoration.

Serve and enjoy!

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