cherry & amaretto pavlovas
- Lauren-Nicole
- Aug 24, 2013
- 3 min read
I tossed & turned last night, somewhere half way between sleep & wake. Obsessing & dreaming about how I was going to enlighten you with my pavlovas & convey their magic through the use of the written word. I was brilliant, well spoken, & had a delicious vocabulary to impress you with. You would have been impressed with my ability to articulate their beauty in a seamless fashion.
Now?
I can’t remember a damn word.
It would appear as if I’m only competent when I sleep. & then it becomes a question of “am I actually competent, or does my subconscious just think I am?”
I suppose we will never know.
It’s a pavlova. By all rights, it really shouldn’t be all that interesting. I mean, it’s meringue. I never understood what the fuss was with meringues. They’re basically just crunchy, chewy sugar. & yet…. in pastry shops they always look so exquisite. Big, cloud like formations that come in gorgeous colours. I wonder whoever thought them up.
I’ve also come to understand that pavlovas were originally made for a Russian ballerina by the name of Anna Pavlova. Would you buy it if I said that my little pavlovas look like the frilly skirts that ballerinas wear? Maybe that’s trying to stretch it a bit too far.
I did try to do the dessert justice though… A delicate balance between black cherries & a sweet amaretto cream.
They are what they are & I like them as is. Try ’em & let me know what you think.
Tools / Equipment:
Ingredients, meringue: makes 10 – 2 large egg whites, room temp – 200g sugar – 1/2 tsp vanilla extract – 1/8 tsp salt – 3/4 tsp corn flour – 1/8 tsp cream of tartar
Directions, meringue: 1. pre heat your oven to 120C with the fan function (140C without the fan), & line a baking tray with parchment paper. 2. combine all the ingredients into the bowl of your stand mixer & beat on medium speed until stiff peaks form. 3. transfer your mix into a pipping bag fitted with a star nozzle, (or any other shape you choose) & pipe your meringues into little bowl shapes approx. 6cmx6cm. 4. bake for one hour until the meringues are bone dry. Turn off your oven & leave the meringues in there until the oven has cooled completely. 5. meringues can be stored in an air tight container in a cool dry place for several days.
Ingredients, filling: – 250ml heavy cream – 30ml amaretto – 10 to 30 black cherries
Directions, filling: 1. combine the amaretto & heavy cream together & beat on medium speed until stiff peaks form. Transfer the mix into a pipping bag & fill the well of each meringue with cream. 2. pit your cherries & chop them into quarters. Spoon the chopped cherries on top of your meringue is as much or as little a quantity as you like. 3. leave the pavlovas to sit for half an hour before serving.
Tips: *** traditionally, people say that you should add your sugar to your egg whites a little at a time when making meringues & that you should heat the sugar first. Personally, I’ve tried it every way & have decided that it makes no difference to my finished meringue… so, I add all the ingredients in the beginning & go from there. You don’t have to do it my way, maybe you think my way is wrong. I’m just letting you know how I do it. *** *** one whole cherry on the top of the pavlova looks lovely if you’re going for a visual effect (like the picture)… I don’t think this is enough fruit to balance out the flavours though so I would go ahead & add more. ***
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