← Nouns Cooking · Dessert Parlour

Ingredients

• 4 large egg whites, at room temperature
• 1 pinch Salt
• 220 g caster sugar
• 2 tsp Cornflour (cornstarch)
• 1 tsp white vinegar
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract
• 300 ml double or whipping cream, cold
• 1 tbsp Icing sugar
• 400 g mixed berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries)
• small mint leaves, to serve (optional)

Method

1. Heat the oven to 120°C (100°C fan, 250°F). Draw a 20 cm circle on baking paper and flip it over onto a baking tray.
2. Whisk the egg whites and salt in a spotlessly clean bowl until they hold soft peaks.
3. Keep whisking and add the caster sugar a spoonful at a time. Once it is all in, whisk for another 3–4 min, until the meringue is thick, glossy and no longer gritty between your fingers.
4. Whisk in the cornflour, vinegar and vanilla. Spread the meringue inside the circle, making the edges a little higher than the middle.
5. Bake for 1 hour 15 min, until crisp and pale cream on the outside. Turn off the oven and leave the pavlova inside with the door ajar to cool completely, about 1 hour.
6. Just before serving, whip the cream with the icing sugar to soft peaks. Pile it onto the meringue and top with the berries and mint.

Tips

• Even a speck of yolk or grease stops the whites whipping, so wipe the bowl with a little lemon juice first.
• Bake the meringue a day ahead and keep it airtight, but only add the cream at the last minute or it softens.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

BBC Good Food Once Upon a Chef