First of all, thank you so much to everyone who contacted me and commented on my previous post. It means a lot and I can’t tell you how much your kind words, your personal stories and your support mean to me. I appreciate it more than you can imagine <3 Secondly, we're nearing the end of spring and about to welcome the start of summer, so I thought it was only right to share this fruit pavlova recipe with you passion, bright, spicy and sunny all to welcome the long days + the succulent flavors of the next season. Passion fruit is one of my all-time *favorite* fruits and grows very well in California, where I lived for a while in my twenties. It is also an absolutely breathtaking grape variety flowers with a decidedly WILD appearanceso if you have a garden and live in a climate warm enough to grow it (USDA zones 9-11), I highly recommend it!
The flavor of passion fruit is somewhere between that of mango and lemon: slightly tart, but also with a semi-sweet tropical taste and a hint of floral complexity mixed in. In short: it’s a real pleasure. And this particular flavor lends itself well to being used in a curd, which combines sugar with butter and egg yolks to create a creamy, fruity spread. Since passion fruit curd is quite tangy, it pairs *very* well with the very sweet pavlova. Alone or paired with typically sweet fruits, pavlova is usually too sugary for me. But when you add a little whipped cream on top and then a tangy curd like passionfruit and lemon, the combination of flavors and textures is SO well balanced and refreshing. Passion fruit pavlova = heaven. I can see why a hot country like Australia invented it!
Now, I won’t lie to you, there are a LOT of nuances when it comes to making pavlova. The texture should be crunchy on the outside, but soft and marshmallowy on the inside, and ideally it shouldn’t crack or start to “tear”, which is when a sugary syrup mixture leaks out of the cracks. I’ve made many pavlovas over the years, some great, some bad, but they all tasted good. So, even if yours turns out to be a little broken, don’t beat yourself up about it. But if you want to make a seriously perfect looking pavlova, here are my key tips:
The best tips for a perfect passion fruit pavlova
- Use superfine sugar. This is a highly refined sugar that is halfway between granulated and icing sugar and dissolves more quickly in the meringue mixture and helps keep the structure of the meringue intact.
- When you beat the meringue in the mixer, don’t rush. It is better to beat starting at a low speed, gradually increasing to a medium-high speed, for a longer time than to beat at high speed from the beginning for a shorter time. Beating on a lower speed for a longer period helps develop tiny air bubbles that create that signature marshmallow texture inside the pavlova and help keep the structure strong.
- DO NOT remove the pavlova from the oven immediately after cooking. Cracks and structural problems develop when the temperature of the pavlova changes rapidly, so once the cooking time is over, turn the oven off, leave the oven door CLOSED, and let it cool to room temperature for several hours inside the oven before remove it. .
These are the most important tips I’ve found, and if you follow them (and the recipe, of course), you should be fine. And like I said, even if there are some cracks, it will still taste great, so don’t sweat the small stuff. And if you want yours to be even fancier, you can make candied lemons to put on top, and I have the recipe for those in this post. Have fun, my friends!
Pavlova with passion fruit and lemon
Pavlova
-
2
teaspoons
cornstarch -
2
teaspoons
lemon juice -
1
teaspoon
vanilla extract -
6
egg whites -
1 2/3
cups of superfine sugar
i.e. granulated sugar
Passion fruit and lemon cream
-
1/2
cup
passion fruit pulp
with seeds it is fine to strain the seeds after the heat has gone out -
1/4
cup
freshly squeezed lemon juice -
4
egg yolks -
1/4
cup
granulated sugar -
5
spoons
unsalted butter
cut into individual spoonfuls -
1
teaspoon
grated lemon zest -
1/2
teaspoon
vanilla extract
Whipped Cream
-
1
cup
whipped Cream
Cold -
1/4
cup
powdered sugar -
1/2
teaspoon
vanilla extract -
1/2
teaspoon
lemon extract
Decoration
-
4
Ripe passion fruit -
1/4
cup
blueberries -
2
spoons
finely chopped pistachios
Pavlova
-
Preheat oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Draw an 11-inch circle on the bottom of a piece of parchment paper, then flip it over so the drawn side is facing down and place it on a large-rimmed baking sheet.
-
In a small bowl or cup, whisk together the cornstarch, lemon juice, and vanilla extract until smooth. Set aside.
-
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on low speed, gradually increasing the speed to medium speed. Once the egg whites start to hold soft peaks, you can start adding the sugar 2 tablespoons at a time and wait until the sugar has dissolved before adding the next couple of tablespoons. Continue whisking until shiny, satiny peaks begin to form. The whole process will take about 15 minutes. DO NOT beat the egg whites at too high a speed.
-
Add the cornstarch mixture to the meringue mixture and beat for another minute until the cornstarch mixture is incorporated.
-
Lift each corner of the baking paper and dab a small, teaspoon-sized amount of meringue onto the corner of the large baking tray, then press the baking paper firmly onto the small piece of meringue again (doing this on each of the four corners of the baking tray will prevent that the baking paper slides while you roll out the pavlova shape).
-
You now have two shaping options:
-
Option no. 1 (easiest): Using a rubber spatula, spread the remaining meringue into a 9-inch circle using the tracing as a guide. Try to make the edges of the pavlova slightly higher than the center to leave room for later toppings. Use an offset spatula to create vertical lines around the edge of the pavlova, starting the offset spatula at the bottom of the pavlova and then lifting it up and repeating all the way around the edges of the pavlova (optional).
-
Option no. 2 (more difficult, looks like the photos in this post): use a piping bag fitted with a very large circular tip. Starting from the center of the pavlova, draw a line to the edge of the circle. Start right next to the other line in the center and do it again. Continue until you get a star pattern and fill the circle. Now, do it over again for a second layer, but don’t go all the way to the edge of the circle, instead stopping about 1 inch short to allow the first layer underneath to be visible. Use the back of a large spoon to create a small bowl about 3 to 4 inches in diameter in the center of the pavlova to allow room for later toppings.
-
Place the pan in the oven and cook for 90 minutes. Turn off the oven and let the pavlova cool to room temperature for several hours. Pavlovas will deflate and collapse if cooled too quickly. Once COMPLETELY cooled to room temperature, remove the pavlova from the oven.
Passion fruit and lemon cream
-
Place 1 to 2 inches of water in the bottom of a double boiler. Bring the water to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low and place the top pot on top. Add the passion fruit pulp, lemon juice, egg yolks and sugar and whisk to combine. Continue stirring gently as the mixture cooks (this will prevent the egg yolks from curdling and will maintain the smooth, silky texture of the curd). Eventually the mixture will thicken enough to coat the back of a spoon (this will take about 10 minutes depending on the temperature of your hob).
-
Remove the top pan of the double boiler from the heat, add the butter pieces and stir until melted. Place a wire mesh strainer or very fine strainer over a small bowl and strain the curd to remove the passion fruit seeds (it’s fine to use clean hands to press the mixture through the strainer to ensure you don’t waste the tasty curd ). Then add the lemon zest and vanilla extract and mix until smooth.
-
Transfer the mixture to a clean glass jar and let it cool to room temperature before covering and placing in the refrigerator. Any excess curd can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for about 1 week.
Whipped Cream
-
Place the cream, sugar and vanilla extract in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Start beating on low speed and gradually increase to medium-high speed, mixing until medium peaks form and any swirl shapes created with the back of a spoon remain in the cream. Add the lemon zest and mix on low speed *just* until smooth.
Assembly
-
Place the whipped cream on top of the pavlova in the center and roll it out into a small circle. Add the curd on top, a spoonful at a time, until you have the desired amount of curd. Cut the whole fresh passion fruit in half, scoop out the pulp of two passion fruits and drizzle it over the pavlova. Arrange the remaining halves on top of the pavlova cut side up, sprinkle with the blueberries and chopped pistachios, and serve.
