Strawberry Pavlova
As Briana Robillard from New Zealand, taught Lindsay Sterling in Freeport, Maine, June 2013
4 egg whites, room temperature
1 tsp cider vinegar
1 tsp + 1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp corn starch
1 cup + 1 Tbsp sugar (superfine or castor for the smoothest result)
1 pint whipping cream
1 quart strawberries
Preheat oven to 250.
In a small bowl mix vinegar, vanilla, and corn starch.
In a small bowl mix vinegar, vanilla, and corn starch.
In a mixing bowl, whip egg whites (at room temperature it's supposed to be easier) with hand beater or electric mixer. Make sure no water or oil or yolk get in the whites or the chemistry won't work. When soft peaks form, start adding sugar, tablespoon by tablespoon, while continuing to whip. When sugar is completely added, mix in the corn starch mixture.
Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Pour meringue into more or less a pie-sized disc on the parchment. Bake in the oven for about an hour until the outside of the meringue is crusty and the color has turned to pale tan. Turn the oven off and leave the meringue in the oven until it is completely cool.
Whip cream, adding 1 Tbsp sugar and 1 tsp vanilla in the end. Slather whipped cream all over the top of the meringue and pile high with fresh cut strawberries. Briana also said, apples, kiwis, and berries are good toppings, too.
Copyright Lindsay Sterling 2013
