Pavlova, chamomile cream
I started to love pavlova during Christmas once I moved to Australia and learned how big it was here during this season.
I love the chamomile cream that gets spread on top of this pavlova, it’s just sweet enough.
Making pavlova is easy, though it does take time. I suggest you make the pavlova base the day before and assemble with cream and fruit before serving.
Ingredients:
Chamomile cream:
20g chamomile tea, loose leaf preferably but a few tea bags could do the trick too
300 ml thickened cream, or heavy whipping cream
50g caster sugar
Pavlova:
220g egg whites, approximately 7-8 eggs
370g caster sugar
15g cornstarch
10ml white vinegar
Pink fruit topping:
2 cups of chopped fruit, I used all pink/red fruit such as plums, strawberries and raspberries
Edible flowers, optional
Method:
Very important note: you will want to make the pavlova the day before, as it needs to dry out in the oven overnight (the oven is turned off don’t worry!)
To make the pavlova: separate egg whites from the egg yolks by gently using your hands to separate them. Add egg whites to a mixing bowl and keep the yolks to make aioli or to use for schnitzel, or an omelette. Careful that no egg yolks accidently break into the egg white mix, you’ll have to start fresh!
Preheat oven to 212F/100C fan-forced.
Using an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer, whisk the egg whites on medium speed until soft peaks form. This means it’s not entirely whipped yet and the peaks don’t hold their shape just yet.
Add a spoonful of sugar in at a time and whisk on medium speed for 30 seconds - 1 minute to completely dissolve the sugar before adding in the next spoonful. This should take about 10 minutes.
Once all the sugar has been added in, increase the speed to medim-high and whip it further until it forms stiff peaks and is thick and glossy. To check that the sugar has been completely dissolved, rub the mixture in between two fingers and if you can feel any sugar, keep whipping. This should take about 5-10 minutes.
Add the vinegar and cornstarch into the egg whites and whisk for another couple of minutes on medium-high speed just to incorporate them into the meringue.
Grab a piping bag, or a ziplock bag, and fill with meringue. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Pipe the meringue into dots on the baking tray, as big or small as you like. I tried two types — one pavlova made of 6 big circles and another made of smaller circles, with 16 on the outer ring. Work your way inside, making sure to fill any gaps in between circles. All of the circles should be touching closely to one another.
Transfer this baking tray to the oven and bake for 90 minutes.
After 90 minutes, open the oven to check that the pavlova has crusted and dried out, especially on the bottom of the pavlova. If not, bake for another 10 minutes or as needed to cook all the way through. The bottom of the pavlova should be dry and fully crusted.
Once it has developed a crust on all sides, leave the pavlova in the oven overnight, with the oven turned off, to dry out completely.
To make the chamomile cream: bring the cream and chamomile tea to a gentle simmer in a pot over low heat. Once it starts to gently simmer, turn off the heat, put the lid on and steep for 20 minutes. Strain and discard the tea. Place in the fridge for at least 3 hours, or until cold as it needs to be cold again to whip.
To whip the chamomile cream: add sugar to the bowl with chilled cream and whip on medium speed using an electric hand mixer until fluffy and stiff peaks form, about 3-5 minutes.
To make the fruit topping: before serving, simply chop the fruit into similar size pieces. Leave any berries whole. Add to a bowl and gently mix to combine.
To decorate the pavlova: carefully peel back the pavlova from the baking paper and set on a plate. Dollop the chamomile cream in the center of the pavlova and smear it around to create an even layer on top, keeping it centered. Spoon over fruit on top of the chamomile cream, garnish with edible flowers and enjoy!
