Chewy marshmallowy centre encased in a crispy meringue shell and a refreshing drink that tastes like Cream Soda. What is not to love about these 2 things? Well I've combined them both right here :)
Pavlova is a good ol' favourite New Zealand and Australian Christmas dessert and when you're stuffed to the brim from Christmas lunch or dinner, most of the time you turn into a muffin after fitting in even more with dessert. If you're hankering for a sweet finish to your savoury meal, I think this would be the perfect way to satisfy that pang.
I'm really chuffed with how these mini Pavlova bites turned out, so much so that it's actually impossible to stop eating them because they're really more-ish! Thank God Jase took the remainders to work, because they are seriously lethal, staring at you from within a jar at home. If you have leftovers, and don't feel like indulging it with a drink, serve them with some Greek Yoghurt (for a healthier alternative to whipped cream or ice cream) and fresh fruit, I guarantee you won't regret having these Pavlova bites on standby for a quick dessert to share!
Pavlova Float Recipe
Ingredients
For the Pavlova - makes 20 little Pavlova bites
- 3 Egg Whites (in case you have liquid egg whites on hand, that's about 105 grams of egg whites)
- Squeeze of Lemon Juice or a 1/4 tsp of Cream of Tartar
- 160gm Caster (Superfine) Sugar
- Good dollop of Vanilla Essence
- 1.5 tsp of Corn Flour
- 1 tsp of White Vinegar
- Few drops of Yellow Food Colouring (optional)
- Fresh Passionfruit Pulp
- Chilled Lemonade
- Pavlova ice cream (or Vanilla ice cream if you don't have this)
Steps:
Pavlova
1. Preheat your oven to 160 Degrees Celsius and line a baking tray with a piece of baking paper. On the baking paper, using a cookie cutter as stencil (or you can go freehand if you like) pencil out 20, 1.5inch diameter circles with a pencil and then flip the baking paper over so that the pencilled side is facing down.
2. Whip the egg whites with a squeeze of lemon juice (or Cream of Tartar) in a standing mixer or electric beater until they form firm, stiff peaks (you should be able to tip the bowl upside down without the egg whites falling out).
3. While whisking, slowly pour in the Sugar, tablespoon by tablespoon, until the egg whites turn glossy and the sugar is all dissolved with no visibility of sugar granules.
4. Whisk in the Vanilla, Corn Flour and Vinegar until incorporated
5. Optional: Drop in a couple of drops of yellow food colouring and lightly stir through with a knife or a spatula, creating yellow ribbons of colour
6. Pipe out or spoon the Pavlova mixture to fill out the stenciled baking paper circles and then place in the oven for 10 minutes. At this point, the meringue should have already formed some sort of skin and started to form a bit of tan colour
7. Lower the Oven temperature to 120 Degrees Celsius and bake for a further 35-40 minutes until the pavlova meringues feel dry and sound hollow when you tap the shell lightly with a finger.
8. Turn the oven off and leave the meringues in there to dry out with the oven door closed, until the oven and the pavlova is completely cool
9. Store in an airtight container until you are ready for assembling the Pavlova float drinks.
1. Preheat your oven to 160 Degrees Celsius and line a baking tray with a piece of baking paper. On the baking paper, using a cookie cutter as stencil (or you can go freehand if you like) pencil out 20, 1.5inch diameter circles with a pencil and then flip the baking paper over so that the pencilled side is facing down.
2. Whip the egg whites with a squeeze of lemon juice (or Cream of Tartar) in a standing mixer or electric beater until they form firm, stiff peaks (you should be able to tip the bowl upside down without the egg whites falling out).
3. While whisking, slowly pour in the Sugar, tablespoon by tablespoon, until the egg whites turn glossy and the sugar is all dissolved with no visibility of sugar granules.
4. Whisk in the Vanilla, Corn Flour and Vinegar until incorporated
5. Optional: Drop in a couple of drops of yellow food colouring and lightly stir through with a knife or a spatula, creating yellow ribbons of colour
6. Pipe out or spoon the Pavlova mixture to fill out the stenciled baking paper circles and then place in the oven for 10 minutes. At this point, the meringue should have already formed some sort of skin and started to form a bit of tan colour
7. Lower the Oven temperature to 120 Degrees Celsius and bake for a further 35-40 minutes until the pavlova meringues feel dry and sound hollow when you tap the shell lightly with a finger.
8. Turn the oven off and leave the meringues in there to dry out with the oven door closed, until the oven and the pavlova is completely cool
9. Store in an airtight container until you are ready for assembling the Pavlova float drinks.
Assembly
1. Place one scoop of Pavlova or Vanilla ice cream into each of your serving mugs/glasses, then pour over your chilled lemonade to your desired level of drink (about half glass or more should do). You'll see the ice cream and lemonade combo start to froth, don't worry if it froths over the glass.
2. Top with another scoop of ice cream and garnish with a pavlova bite and drizzle over some passionfruit pulp
Tips:
- Use old egg whites if you can! I had already separated egg whites from an earlier baking session which required egg yolks, and had stored the egg whites in a plastic zip-lock bag in the fridge for about a week before I baked these Pavlova bites. I have to say this was the best Pavlova I have had to date! (read the science behind this here).
- You can easily make your own Pavlova ice cream ahead of time by following this recipe and substituting the flavourings in that recipe for passionfruit pulp and crushed meringue.
- This float is flavoured with tart and fresh passionfruit pulp, a classic, but if you prefer, pair it with whatever tart summer fruit you have on hand!
Wow. These look amazing!
ReplyDeleteHi Erin! Thanks! You should definitely give the Pavlova bites a try if you have a day to potter in the kitchen :) X
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