Valentine's Pavlova

Valentine's Day is fast approaching and I had 
to have a dessert or two to celebrate.
I decided a heart-shaped pavlova with 
gorgeous red fruit would be perfect, 
and beautiful!

A pavlova is a meringue crust with a 
soft filling, like sweetened whipped cream,
and is usually topped with fresh fruit.  
I have shared a couple of other pavlova's 
over the years.  One is a Christmas one with 
peppermint that is a family favorite.  

Now mind you, we are still staying in 
Cabo, and so the hunt for my ingredients 
began.  I stood in the store with my 
limited Spanish (it gets me around, but 
ingredients can be new) and looked up 
"Fecula de maiz" and sure enough it 
was cornstarch.  We have found a couple 
of grocery stories that we really love, 
La Comer and Fresko, and La Comer 
had what they called a gourmet area, where 
I readily recognized Cream of Tartar.  I 
was surprised and thrilled.  I could have 
substituted vinegar, but even with vinegar, 
there just isn't a big selection here. 

I have made meringues with regular sugar rather 
than super-fine, but the sugar here in Mexico 
is super coarse - as in my chocolate chip cookies 
have a crunch from the sugar.  So I decided to 
whirl the sugar around in my blender and got 
some pretty nice super-fine sugar.  
As you can tell, things are a little more 
complicated here and the Mexican culture's 
taste in baked goods is different than ours.  
Our builder's wife immediately told me I 
would need to import flour as theirs is softer 
than cake flour, but we found a little organic 
store close by that carries King Arthur flour. 

I am not sure I can bake without parchment 
paper, so I brought a supply down with me.  
To make the heart, I folded the parchment 
paper in half and made half a heart, then 
turned it over and copied the other side.  
Then I made sure to turn my parchment 
paper over to the back side so that I didn't 
end of with markings on the back of my 
meringue - yes I have had that happen before.  

With the leftover meringue I piped 
some smaller hearts for accents. 

Meringue is really fun and easy and I haven't 
met someone who didn't love that melt in 
your mouth texture.  
Pavlova Recipe
Heat oven to 230 degrees.  Line pan with 
parchment paper.  
Start with a squeaky clean mixer bowl and 
whip.  Whip 4 room-temperature egg whites 
(with not a speck of yolk in them) until soft 
peaks form.  Then spoon 1 C. of super-fine 
sugar in, one heaping tablespoon at a time.  
Stop and scrape the sides of the bowl as 
needed.  The meringue will get glossy 
white and beautiful.  After you have 
added all of the sugar - don't rush this - 
beat in 1 Tablespoon cornstarch and 
1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar that 
have been blended together with a fork. 
Continue to beat until 
the sugar crystals are almost gone - test 
by rubbing a little between your fingers.  
Spoon the meringue onto the parchment 
paper within your design.  Swirl it and 
make it beautiful using the back of a spoon.  
Use the remaining 
meringue to create meringue cookies if 
desired. 
Place the pan into a 230 F oven for 80 minutes.  
Then turn off the heat and allow to stay in the 
oven for at least two hours or even overnight.  
I took mine out after several hours and let 
it cool, then covered it with plastic wrap 
so I could assemble it the next day.  

Top it with whipped cream or whatever filling 
you desire and then the fruit.  Refrigerate 
until served.  I like it to sit for a while to 
help soften the meringue, but then I would 
top it later with the fruit.  
This pavlova turned out so beautiful and 
white - I think it loved the Cabo climate!  Haha.

 

Chocolate Peppermint Pavlova 

Spring Berry Pavlova

I hope you have a lovely 
Valentine's Day.
Thanks for stopping by.  Give this a try, 
it will melt in your mouth. 

 

Spring Berry Pavlova

This light and luscious meringue cake is perfect

for spring, when you feel the sunshine and the flowers

burst forth in their gorgeous colors, and you

crave something sweet but not heavy.

Layer upon layer of meringue is stacked with a

sweetened whip cream and cream cheese filling 

and loads of fresh berries.

You can make it for a crowd, or in individual servings.

(I made a couple of individual ones so that hubby,

who wasn't invited to the party, could have a dessert.)

The meringues are easy and so pretty.  I usually

make an extra one, in case one breaks while I

am removing it from the parchment paper, and sure

enough one did, but we loved eating it plain.

Fresh flowers from the garden adorn the cake, and

also the very first tiny leaves of my mint.

Spring Berry Pavlova

12 large eggs, room temperature

(You can place them in a bowl of warm water

for ten minutes to get them to room temperature

if you are in a hurry.)

3 1/2 C. granulated sugar

2 T. cornstarch

1 T. lemon juice or white vinegar

1 T. vanilla extract (I prefer clear)

Heat oven to 200 degrees

Cover large baking pans with parchment paper.  

I used 15x21 pans, so I could get all of the meringues

in the oven at once.

Trace 5 - 7 or 8 inch circles on 

pans.  Flip the parchment paper over so you

don't get the pencil marks on the bottom of

your meringues.  I used 7 inch circles.

Separate egg whites, being very careful

to get no yolk in.  I separate one egg white and then pour

it into the large bowl, one at a time to make sure I

don't get any yolk in.  Place the whites in a bowl

that is clean from any trace of oil, or they won't 

whip and achieve their volume.

With the whip attachment, begin whipping the whites.

Meanwhile, whisk the sugar and cornstarch together.

When the whites just get to stiff peak stage, begin

whipping in the sugar, a little at a time.  This actually

goes pretty fast despite the amount of sugar.

When you finish adding the sugar, the egg whites

should be stiff and glossy.

Remove the whip and fold in the lemon juice

and vanilla.

Spread the meringue on your parchment paper,

almost to the edge of your circles. 

They will grow a little so don't go past

the circles.  You want the meringue about 3

/4 to 1 inch thick.  If

you have any remaining egg white mix, 

make individual rounds on

the empty spaces of your pan.

Bake for 2 hours at 200 degrees, then turn off the

oven and let the meringues rest in the oven, without

opening the door for at least 2 hours.  You can leave

them in overnight if you want.  Remove from oven 

and let cool on pans.

Pavlova Filling

2 1/2 C. whipping cream

8 oz. softened cream cheese

1 C. powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

Beat whipping cream until stiff.  Set aside

Whip cream cheese, sugar and vanilla together until

smooth and creamy. 

Fold whipped cream and cream cheese mix

together.

Assorted fresh berries

Spring flowers for garnish

Carefully peel cooled meringues and layer

with filling and fresh berries.  Meringues are

fragile, so handle with care and don't press

down on them.  Garnish with fresh flowers

and mint if desire.  Leave plain, or sprinkle

with a little powdered sugar.

The meringues will absorb the moisture of

the filling, so I would recommend putting

the pavlova together no more than an

hour or two before serving.  (I made this

six hours before, and we lost a lot of the

fabulous crunch of the pavlova.  It still

tasted great, but they had softened more than

I wanted.)

The meringues will crumble a little as you

cut them, but that is ok.

Right before taking it to the party, I decided

a little spring snow would be fun, so I

sprinkled it with powdered sugar.  I don't really

know which look I like better.  You decide.

Thanks for coming to visit.  

Wish we could sit down with a slide of Pavlova

together!

Chocolate Peppermint Bark Pavlova

'Tis the Season for rich and delicious

desserts and this Chocolate Peppermint Pavlova

is the perfect Christmas or winter dessert.

Each bite has the moist crunch of meringue with

the rich smoothness of chocolate ganache and

the flavor punch of peppermint bark. 

Wow, this just screams celebration!! 

My friend Rachel made this for a dinner party

last week and hubby and I kept having visions

of Pavlova dance in our heads  - so I made

it myself for a dinner invitation last night.

The recipe comes from Williams-Sonoma.

Click here for complete instructions.

I made a few minor changes to the preparation.

Rather than letting the melted chocolate and cream

mix sit and cool for two hours (way too long for

my patience) I put them in a large mixing bowl

and beat them with the whisk attachment until 

the mixture became like a soft pudding.  When

you can spoon the ganache onto the meringue,

it is ready to use.  This only takes a few

minutes on high.

Have all of your ingredients

ready as the ganache can cool rapidly.  

I also baked all of my meringues

at once, and only shaped them to 8 inches

each as they will grow.  I did two pans in

my big oven and one in the little but it ended

up that I didn't use the fifth layer as I ran 

out of ganache.

If you can't get WS's Peppermint Bark,

Ghiradelli makes a great one or whip up

a quick batch of your own. 

I used a combination of Jensen's and Ghiradelli's

for mine because that was what I had on hand.

This could also

be made with Ande's Mints or you could

change it to almond - so many possibilities!!

This isn't just a Christmas dessert.

The Pavlova is delicate and cracks easily 

so handle it with care.  You would think it

would be difficult to slice and serve, but use

a serrated knife to cut it.  You want it room

temperature to cut it or the ganache will

be too hard.

Layer after layer of light and moist

meringue cuts the richness of the

ganache.  Oh, the texture combination

is fantastic!  The peppermint flavor 

comes just from the peppermint bark so

it isn't too minty.

This is one of those desserts that takes 

some time for prep but is worth it.

This is one of those desserts that

depicts

"dreams of sugarplums dancing in their heads".

We give this a ten thumbs up!

I will be posting this with 

Foodie Friday

Pink Saturday

Cherry Berries On A Cloud

This is one of those desserts that you have 

seen your entire life in the cookbook and

never made and then someone brings it

to a dinner and you just have to have the

recipe.  Then they tell you that it has been

right in front of your face for decades and

you just want to kick yourself because you

could have been enjoying it for years and

years - but hey, at least now you can earmark

it as one of your favorites.

Cherry Berries on a Cloud comes straight out of the

old standby - Betty Crocker Cookbook.  When we were

growing up we used to have a standing saying if we were

looking for a recipe - "Check Betty, she always has the

recipe."  

My friend Rachel has been making this recipe for

years and the other day she brought it to a shower.

I couldn't believe it was the same recipe that was

in my circa 1975 Betty Crocker Cookbook.  

Well, let's say it wasn't exactly - someone had

adjusted the recipe (doubled it and changed the

cooking times and added strawberries to the mix)

by the time Rachel got her Betty Crocker cookbook.

I think hers was the very next edition.

I know they have those great Betty Crocker 

test kitchens (now wouldn't that be a fun job!) 

and someone kept testing this one and tweaked

it all for the better.

You are going to love this - truly like a cloud

with the heavenly meringue crust.  (And that

fabulous crust makes it lower in fat too!!!)

The recipe calls for

placing the meringue in 

 a 9x13 inch pan but I had this

huge 12 inch round

 ceramic tart dish  and I love the way

it turned out in this.

Bake the crust for 1 hour (my old cookbook said 1 1/2 hours

and that made it too hard.)  Let  the meringue cool in the oven for

one hour and then let it cool on the counter.

It gets filled with a creamy layer of cream cheese,

whipped cream and marshmallows.  Then you let

it sit in the fridge overnight and the meringue

softens into a cloud.

I chose to top mine with the fruit right before

serving so that the strawberries didn't get

soggy.

Cherry Berries On A Cloud Recipe

(tweaked a little  from Betty Crocker Cookbook)

6 egg whites

1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

1/4 tsp. salt

1 3/4 C. granulated sugar

6 oz. softened cream cheese

1 C. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla (clear if you have it)

2 C. whipping cream (whipped)

(you can substitute Cool Whip if desired)

2 C. mini marshmallows

1 - 20 oz. can cherry pie filling

2 C. sliced fresh strawberries

1 tsp. lemon juice (optional)

Heat oven to 275 degrees.

Grease a 9x13 inch pan or equivalent sized pan.

Beat the egg whites and cream of tartar and salt

on high speed of your mixer with a wire whip 

until frothy

and then beat in the sugar, one tablespoon at 

at time until glossy and stiff.  Do not underbeat.

Spread the meringue in the pan and bake it

for one hour, then turn off oven and leave

it in the oven for one hour.  Remove from

oven and let cool to room temperature.

(The original recipe says to keep it in the

oven for 12 hours but who has that much time -

I didn't and it worked just fine.)

When meringue is cool, whip cream cheese, sugar

and vanilla.  Fold in whipped cream and marshmallows.

Spoon the filling over the cooled meringue and

loosely cover it with plastic wrap and place

it in the fridge overnight.

Just before serving, stir together the

fresh strawberries and the pie filling, adding

the lemon juice if desired.

Serve.

I love how the meringue became fluted in

this dish.

The creamy center softens the meringue - hence the cloud -

pure heaven!  I think you will love this one too if you

haven't already discovered it.

This makes a big dessert, but it disappears quickly!

Posting this with

On The Menu Monday

Wow Us Wednesday

Foodie Friday

Weekend Wrapup

Fat Camp Friday

Sweets For A Saturday

Friday Potluck