Strawberry Swirl Pavlova

My first attempt at making pavlova and let me just say this: I now have no idea why I was so afraid of making this in the past ! It was dead easy and came together without much fuss at all. I wanted to keep the berry theme going in our house and had a quart of strawberries on stand-by.

I decided to go with Martha Stewart's recipe for raspberry ripple meringue but obviously swapped out the raspberries for sweet and juicy strawberries.

The filling is nothing more than sweetened whipped cream topped with macerated strawberries. I love the combo of chocolate and strawberries so I wanted a suitable drizzle to finish things off. Out came the Lindt dark chocolate baking bar and some heavy cream. Before you knew it, a ganache was born.

Give yourself several hours of bake time for this one. The pavlova requires nearly 2 hrs in the oven then 1 hour cooling time. The wait is well worth it. This was a superb dessert that is easy enough to make any day of the week but definitely fancy enough in terms of presentation to be a welcomed dessert at any dinner party.

If you don't have strawberries then try raspberries or blueberries. Even blackberries would work wonderfully.

Let's put these guys to good use

What better way to eat strawberries!

LET'S BEGIN!

RECIPE:
adapted pavlova recipe: Raspberry-Ripple Meringue; Martha Stewart

WHAT YOU NEED

Pavlova

2 cups strawberries, sliced
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons fine granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon corn starch
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
3 large egg whites at room temperature
pinch of salt

Filling

2 cups whipping cream
1 teaspoon fine granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Chocolate Drizzle

4 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup heavy cream

MAKE IT

PREHEAT OVEN to 200F (100C)
USING a 8" cake pan as your stencil, with a pencil draw a 8" circle on a piece of parchment
paper
FLIP paper over and place on a cookie sheet

PUREE 1 cup strawberries, 1 tablespoon of sugar and lemon juice in food processor until smooth
STRAIN through a sieve into small bowl and set aside

IN SMALL BOWL, whisk together 3/4 cup sugar and cornstarch
IN LARGE BOWL, with stand or hand-held mixer, whisk egg whites, salt and cream of tartar until foamy
ADD sugar/cornstarch mixture in 3 batches, whisking 30 seconds after each addition
SCRAPE down sides of bowl
WHISK 4 minutes on HIGH SPEED with stand or hand-held mixer until stiff peaks form

ADD 2 tablespoons of strawberry puree to meringue cutting in slightly with a knife
WITH RUBBER SPATULA, mound meringue onto parchment paper to take form of a 8" circle
WITH FINGERS, gently smooth out the center of the meringue so you have an indentation (approx 5 " circumference) which will later be filled with whipped cream.
BAKE for 1 hr 50 minutes
TURN OFF OVEN, open door so it is slightly ajar and let meringue cool in oven for 1 hour
REMOVE , peel of parchment and gently place on a serving platter. Be extra careful as it is delicate and can break easily

SLICE remaining strawberries and place in MEDIUM bowl
SPRINKLE WITH 1 tablespoon sugar, stir and set aside

IN DOUBLE BOILER, melt chocolate and whipping cream, whisking continuously until combined and shiny
SET chocolate aside to cool 15 minutes
WHIP whipping cream, vanilla and sugar until soft peaks form

MOUND whipped cream into center of meringue
TOP with sliced strawberries
DRIZZLE with remaining strawberry puree and chocolate sauce

ENJOY ( I know I did) !