Pavlova

I am not someone who eats a lot of dessert. I don't crave chocolate, almost always skip dessert in restaurants and much prefer a cheese plate to ice cream. I am a 'savory' person through and through.

But there are some desserts that I do enjoy, on occasion, usually when we have guests. This pavlova is one of them.

The meringue recipe is from Sydney Food by Bill Grainger. It is an easy recipe, though it says to start the oven on 220 degrees and then drop it to 150 degrees (I think, the pages of the book stuck together and I can't quite read that part). I don't tend to do this as I find that the meringue browns. Instead I start the oven on a lower temperatue (usually about 140 degrees in a fan forced oven) and keep it in for longer.

Instead of normal cream, I like to use creme fraiche as I think its sour tang is a great contrast to the sweet meringue. Use whatever fruit you like. Pomegranates are my favourite at the moment. Passionfruit is what I normally use.

For the picture I only made a third of the recipe. Again, apologies for the poor quality, that is something I will have to practice! But thank you to Mark and Scott who took about 40 photos trying to take a really good one!

Ingredients (serves 8)

6 egg whites

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1 1/3 cups caster sugar

1 tablespoon cornflour

2 tablespoons arrowroot

2 teaspoons white vinegar

300g creme fraiche

1 pomegranate, seeds removed

125g blueberries

Method

Preheat oven to 140 degrees. Place egg whites, cream of tartar and vanilla into a clean, dry bowl and beat until stiff peaks form. Add sugar in tablespoons, beating continuously until all sugar is added and meringue is glossy and thick. Stir in the cornflour, arrowroot and vinegar.

Line a baking tray with non-stick paper and spead meringue in a circle approximately 20cms in diameter.

Bake for 1 hour and 40 minutes or until the outside is firm (keep and eye on the meringue during the last 30 minues as oven temperatues differ). Let the meringue cool in the oven with the door slightly open.

Just prior to serving top the meringue with creme fraiche, pomegranate and blueberries.