These mini fruit-topped pavlovas are the perfect dessert for a dinner party or potluck. The meringue bases can be made ahead of time then all you need to do is whip the cream and pop the fruit on top. They are so easy but look impressive.
Who owns bragging rights to the creation of pavlova is a hotly contested subject between Australians and New Zealanders so sometimes it’s fun to bring it up if you have a few at your gathering. The best part is that once you’ve let them vie for ownership for a while, you can flummox them all with more
current research.
Dr. Andrew Paul Wood, a New Zealander, and Australian Annabelle Utrech have traced the origins of pavlova as we know it back to the German-speaking Habsburgs who made a certain dessert, a confection of meringue and cream and fruit, that they had “borrowed” from Spain. They named it
Spanische Windtorte, which translates to wind pie. Apt for a light and fluffy meringue, don't you think?
German immigrants brought that recipe and its cousin the
schaum torte or foam cake to the United States, which eventually evolved into a recipe called Forgotten Cake. It was quite popular in the 1940s, and was so called because meringue is put into a hot oven, which is then turned off and is left for at least eight hours. Forgotten cakes were originally served with a fruit filling and cream on top, but eventually busy housewives started just topping them with cream and then fresh fruit. Much like the traditional pavlova.
So how did the recipe make its way to our friends in the southern hemisphere? Wood and Utrech discovered that an American cornstarch company began importing their product to New Zealand in the 1890s, with a pavlova-type recipe on the package. So it’s really sort of American, by way of Germany and Spain.
Mini Fruit-topped Pavlovas
No matter how it got there, pavlova is still a quintessential Australian or New Zealand dessert. A traditional fruit topping down under is passion fruit pulp but you can use whatever fruit you have on hand. Serve the mini fruit-topped pavlovas shortly after topping them as the cream will soften the meringues.
Ingredients for 4 dozen mini pavs
4 large egg whites
1 pinch salt
1 cup or 225g caster sugar (I used golden caster sugar.)
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon white vinegar
To serve:
1 3/4 cups or 414ml whipping cream
Selection of fresh fruit - I used 7 oz or 200g raspberries, 2 small mangoes and two kiwi fruit.
You will need 4 baking sheets, lined with parchment or silicone liners and a piping bag with a large hole tip.
Method
Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C. Whisk the egg whites with the salt until they're holding firm peaks but are not stiff.
Gently add in the sugar a spoonful at time, still beating, until you've got a bowl full of shiny, thick meringue. There should be no grittiness left when you rub the meringue between your thumb and finger.
Use a sieve or sifter to sprinkle in the cornstarch, add the vanilla and vinegar, then gently fold to combine.
If you are using parchment paper without guidelines, you can use permanent marker or pencil to draw small circles as guide. Mine are about 2 inches or 5cm wide. Turn the paper over so you will be adding the meringue on the clean side.
Put the meringue in a piping bag with a large tip. Start in the middle of your circles and pipe a solid base, finishing with one more circle of meringue on top of the very outside of the base.
Put the first two pans into the oven, turn it down to 300°F or 150°C and bake for 20 minutes. Turn the oven off and leave the meringues in for another 20 minutes, then take them out of the oven and put them in a cool dry place.
Once the first batch is out, preheat your oven again to 350°F or 180°C and repeat the process with the last two pans.
When you are ready to assemble the bite-sized pavlovas, whip the cream into soft peaks and peel and cut your fruit, if necessary. Small fruit, like raspberries, can be left whole.
Spoon a couple of teaspoons into the meringues then top with fruit.
Enjoy!
This month my Baking Blogger friends are sharing their favorite recipes with summer berries. Many thanks to our host Sue of
Palatable Pastime for her behind the scenes work and this fun theme. Check out all the tasty berry recipes below.
Baking Bloggers is a friendly group of food bloggers who vote on a shared theme and then post recipes to fit that theme one the second Monday of each month. If you are a food blogger interested in joining in, inquire at our
Baking Bloggers Facebook group. We'd be honored if you would join us in our baking adventures.
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