Tropical Pavlova

Excuse the pictures folks! I just moved and couldn't find my camera for a couple of days so I used a friend's I-phone and it is clearly not as good as my small Sony camera! I will have to make this again and take better pictures sometime.

This is a super fresh and very delicious Tropical Fruit Pavlova (which is really just a chewy meringue!) This is easy to make and very impressive. You can use your favourite fruits or try this one with mango, blueberries and fresh passion fruit. I have even added a bit of coconut to the actual pavlova which makes it really yummy. Make one this weekend!


You will need:

• 4 egg whites - room temperature
• pinch of salt
• 3/4 cup of sugar
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 2 tsp white vinegar
• 1 tsp real vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp fine shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened whatever you like)
• 1 1/2 cups fresh whipping cream
• 1 tbsp Cointreau or your favorite liqueur
• 1 tbsp pure Maple syrup (or sugar)
• 1 ripe mango - sliced
• 1 pint of fresh blueberries
• 2 ripe passion fruit - cut in half and spoon over the seeds and pulp

Step 1: in a very clean bowl separate 4 room temperature eggs. You can use the yolks to make a nice lemon curd or something else but, for this recipe you just need the whites. I trace a 9 inch pie plate on parchment paper to get a nice circle and then flip over the paper so you can see the circle but it is not on the same side you are putting the pavlova (you don't need to eat that ink!)

Step 2: with a hand held mixer whip the egg whites until you get soft peaks about 5 minutes. Add the salt and then the sugar 1/4 cup at a time until incorpoated approximately 2 more minutes.

Step 3: add the cornstarch and continue whipping until you get stiff peaks this might take 10 minutes just keep going until you get a stiff peak when you lift the beater.

Step 4: add vinegar, vanilla and coconut. Stir in with a whisk or quickly incorporate with the hand mixer.

Step 5: Place parchment paper on a cookie sheet and pile on the meringue in the middle of your circle. Place in a 300 degree F heated oven. As soon as you place it in the oven reduce heat to 250 degrees F and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Turn off oven and leave the pavlova to cool in the oven for 2 hours. Remove cooled pavlova from oven and slide off parchment onto a cutting board for easy serving. You may need to slide a spatula or run a knife under it to release it from the paper. If you get any cracks, don't worry whipped cream will fix it!

You can leave it on the counter for a few hours before serving.

Step 6: Just before serving whip cream with maple syrup or sugar and a bit of booze until it is thick and between soft and firm peaks. Pile on the cream, add sliced mangoes, blueberries and drizzle/spoon the insides of 2 passion fruits.

Cut big fat wedges and enjoy the whole thing in one sitting!!