MERINGUE INGREDIENTS:

= 5 egg whites (should weigh about 182 g or a little over ¾ cup) – at room temperature. Eggs should be very fresh.

= 1 cup sugar

= ½ cup confectioner’s sugar (I prefer the kind with added corn starch – should be mentioned in the description on the packaging)

= 1 tablespoon corn starch

= 1 teaspoon vanilla extract  

= 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar (7%)

= Pinch of salt

COOKING MERINGUE:

1. Prepare your baking sheet: draw an approximately 22 cm diameter circle on a sheet of parchment paper; turn this sheet of paper upside down and place it on the baking sheet (to avoid meringue touching the ink). To draw this circle, I usually use a lid or a ball as a guide. 

Preheat your oven to 150℃ (300℉) – I use a gas stove.

2. I use a standing mixer KitchenAid – the bowl and the whisk must be absolutely clean with no greasy spots whatsoever. To make sure your bowl is very clean you can wipe its inside surface with a slice of lemon. However, I personally prefer that my mixer bowl is clean and very dry.  

3. Separate egg whites from the yolks. Make sure not a spot of yolk gets in your egg whites. If it does, it will most likely prevent your meringue from being whipped properly.  

4.  In another clean and dry bowl whisk together sugar with confectioner’s sugar and corn starch. 

5. Place the egg whites into the clean mixer bowl, add a pinch of salt and start whipping it at a medium speed until the mixture turns into a thick and airy foam, and soft peaks are formed – about 4-5 minutes.

6. Start adding combined sugars/starch mixture to the mixer bowl – adding 1-2 table spoons at a time while continuing to whip at medium-high speed. 

7. When all of the sugar mixture has been added, keep whipping for a couple more minutes, then add vanilla extract and keep beating with vanilla for another minute or two.   

8. Add the white wine vinegar to the bowl and switch your mixer to the highest speed and let it work for 8-9 minutes until stiff peaks are formed. The meringue mixture should be very thick and glossy.  If you pick up a spoonful of this mixture it should stay on the spoon even when you turn it upside down.

9.  Using a wooden or silicon spatula transfer the meringue mixture onto the prepared parchment paper (which is sitting on the baking sheet) trying to keep it inside the drawn circle. Make a shallow and rather wide well in the middle of the meringue by pushing it to its sides and out of the center.

Place the baking sheet with the meringue mixture in the middle of the oven and immediately lower the oven temperature to 270℉ (140℃), close the oven and bake the meringue for 1½ hours. DO NOT open the oven during the baking. After the baking time is over, turn the oven off without opening it. Keep the meringue in the oven for another hour or 1½ hours, then take it out of the oven.

Baked meringue should be firm and dry on the outside and soft inside. It could even crack in several places while baking – do not be alarmed, this is normal. 

Take the baked meringue off the parchment and place it on a wire rack to cool completely.

INGREDIENTS for WHIPPED CREAM:

= 2 cups of thick and rich whipping cream (I prefer Heavy Whipping Cream Maola – I buy it at the local Giant stores) – should be very cold, straight from the fridge

= 2 tablespoons sugar

= 2 tablespoons Vanilla Extract

COOKING: 

For making whipped cream I use a hand mixer and a tall bowl.

Put the cold whipping cream in the bowl, add sugar and vanilla, and beat on the highest speed for 4-5 minutes. Be careful not to beat it for too long to avoid the cream becoming butter…

INGREDIENTS for CUSTARD: 

= 2 cups of whole milk (do not use fat free milk)

= 2 eggs

= ¾ cup sugar

= 3 tablespoons flour

= 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

= 1 teaspoon confectioner’s sugar – for dusting

= 1 cup of fresh berries for decoration

COOKING CUSTARD: 

1. Sift together sugar and flour.

2. Whip the eggs with sugar and flour mixture. Try to get the sugar to dissolve in the eggs as much as you can.

3. Thoroughly stir and mix vanilla extract into the egg mixture.

4. Heat the milk on the stove. Make sure it doesn’t come to a boil.

5. Take 1/3 of warmed milk and carefully add it to the egg mixture while whisking. The mixture should be runny.

6. Take this egg mixture and pour it, in a thin stream, into the warm milk, which is still on the low heat on the stove. Intensively stir the mixture with a whisk to make sure it doesn’t burn and there are no lumps. Warm this mixture for about 5 minutes on low heat while stirring continually. As soon as the mixture starts to bubble, turn off the heat. (You want to bring it to a boil but not actually boil it.)

Your custard is ready. Dust with confectioner’s sugar and cover the pot with plastic wrap – to prevent skin and lumps from being formed. Let it cool.

If you want to speed up the cooling process, put the pot with custard into a bigger pot filled with iced water. Make sure water doesn’t get into your custard.

INGREDIENTS for STRAWBERRY-COGNAC SAUCE: 

= 2 cups fresh cleaned strawberries

= 1/3 cup sugar

= 5 tablespoons strawberry preserve

= ¼ cup cognac

COOKING:

1. Puree strawberries, sugar, preserve, and cognac in a blender.

2. Pour the strawberry mixture in a pot and bring to boil. Strain through a mesh strainer.

Your sauce is ready for serving.

ASSEMBLING PAVLOVA with WHIPPED CREAM and FRESH BERRIES:

Place the completely cooled meringue on a serving stand or plate and put the whipped cream on top of it. The middle part of your meringue should be a bit lower than its sides (remember, we made a well in the middle of the meringue before baking it).

You can decorate your Pavlova any way you like it: I usually use clean and dry berries such as strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and so on, and some mint leaves. Just arrange these berries and leaves on the top of the cream.

Enjoy your Pavlova!

TIPS: You can bake the meringue a couple of days prior to serving and keep it in a cool, dry place. I do not put it in the fridge. In 1-2 hours or so prior to serving, prepare the cream and decorate your Pavlova. Once you put the cream on the top of your meringue, you need to keep it in the fridge.