STRAWBERRIES PAVLOVA RECIPES

Steps:

• To prepare meringue: heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and draw a circle on the paper using an 8- or 9- inch cake pan as a guide. Flip the parchment over so the pencil marking is facing down (this ensures that the pencil won't transfer to the meringue). In bowl of an electric mixer, combine egg whites and salt. Begin beating at low speed, slowly increasing to high. Continue until satiny peaks begin to form; gradually beat in sugar a tablespoon at a time until meringue is stiff and shiny.
• Sprinkle in cornstarch, white-wine vinegar and vanilla, and fold in gently. Mound onto parchment within circle, and shape into a disk, flattening top and smoothing sides. Place in oven, and immediately reduce heat to 300 degrees. Bake 1 hour 15 minutes. Turn off heat, and allow meringue to cool completely in oven.
• To prepare topping: in a mixing bowl, combine strawberries, vanilla, balsamic vinegar and sugar. Cover with plastic wrap. Let sit at room temperature at least 15 minutes and up to 2 hours.
• To serve, carefully peel off parchment and place meringue on a platter or cake stand. Gently crack the top with the back of a soup spoon to make a shallow nest for the whipped cream and berries. Whip cream until it is thick enough to hold peaks, and spoon it evenly over meringue. Cover cream with strawberries, allowing a small amount of their liquid to dribble onto cream. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2.
• Using a pencil, mark out the circumference of a dinner plate on baking parchment.
• Whisk 4 egg whites with a hand mixer until they form stiff peaks, then whisk in 250g caster sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, until the meringue looks glossy.
• Whisk in 1 tsp white wine vinegar, 1 tsp cornflour and 1 tsp vanilla extract.
• Spread the meringue inside the circle, creating a crater by making the sides a little higher than the middle.
• Bake for 1 hr, then turn off the heat and let the Pavlova cool completely inside the oven.
• When the meringue is cool, chop 100g of the hulled strawberries. Mix them with 100g of the redcurrants and 2 tbsp icing sugar.
• Place in a food processor, blitz until smooth, then push the fruit mixture through a sieve.
• Whip 350ml double cream with the remaining 1 tbsp icing sugar and spread it over the meringue. Put the remaining 400g hulled and halved strawberries and 100g redcurrants on the cream and finally pour the sauce over the whole lot.