Vanilla & Ginger Pavlova Recipe
Makes 6-8 meringue nests
Ingredients:
6 eggwhites
225g (1 cup) caster sugar
100g (1/2 cup) icing sugar
2 tbsp cornflour
1 tsp vinegar
1/2 tsp ground ginger (you can leave the ginger out if you're not feeling particularly adventurous)
Seeds of 2 vanilla beans (or 1 tsp vanilla essence)
For decorating:
Blueberries
Strawberries
Passion fruit
Whipped cream or custard
Method:
1. Preheat a conventional oven to 200˚C. Line a baking tray with baking paper or a silicone mat. Whip eggwhites with a mixer at high speed until stiff peaks form.
2. Mix caster sugar, icing sugar, vanilla seeds and ginger in a bowl. Gradually add the sugar mixture a tablespoon at a time to the eggwhites while mixing.
3. Mix in the vinegar, then fold in the cornflour.
4. Using two tablespoons, form meringue nests on your prepared baking tray, using one spoon to clean the other, all the while turning your meringue nests into your desired shape with the back of your spoons. Again, use the back of a spoon to create a slight basin in the middle of each meringue. You will need this once the nests are ready. Turn down your oven temperature to roughly 130˚C, place your baking tray in the oven, and bake for 1 - 1.5 hours.
5. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. Once cool, place whipped cream or vanilla custard in the basin of each meringue and top with blueberries, strawberries and passion fruit.
