Thanksgiving Pavlova

No Aussie celebration is complete without a Pavlova! We’ve brought you a Pavlova recipe for this Thanksgiving that’ll be a party favourite no matter the guests, with some handy hints along the way to make the perfect Pav. This is a good excuse to have Pavlova before it’s traditionally served on Christmas Day!

Ingredients:

150ml egg whites (4-5 eggs cold from the fridge)
220 grams caster sugar
1 tablespoon cornflour/ cornstarch, sifted
1 teaspoon white vinegar

Cream:

375 ml thickened cream
55 grams caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or essence

Topping:

Fresh fruit of your choice i.e raspberries, blueberries, strawberries and cherries

Method:

While the eggs are cold, separate the whites from the yolks until you’ve got 150ml of whites then set the whites aside until they come up to room temperature.
Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 150 degrees celsius (fan forced oven) or 170 degrees (standard).
Once the whites are at room temperature, place them into a large mixing bowl and using a standard mixer or handheld eggbeater, beat the whites until they’re at softs peaks. Add to the whites 1 tablespoon of sugar at a time, beating as you go.
Once you’ve added the sugar, beat the mixture for an additional 3 minutes or until it becomes thick and glossy (if you take a small piece of the mix and rub it between your fingers there shouldn’t be any sugar grit left over and this means it’s ready).
Beat in your cornflour and vinegar on a low setting for 5-7 seconds; alternatively you can fold these through with a spatula until mixed through.
Line the base of a 24cm (or larger) springform cake pan with baking paper, using a few dabs of the meringue underneath the paper so it sticks. Gently place half of the meringue mixture onto the baking paper and using the cake pan as a guideline, shape it into a circle shape approximately 20cm in diameter.
Carefully take the rest of the meringue and shape it into a dome shape and make sure the edges slope slightly inwards and the top is flat. The height of the dome should be 4-5cm high (the pav will rise/expand so you don’t need to build it too high).
Gently transfer your pav to a baking tray and carefully place into the oven, once inside turn the oven down to 100 degrees celsius fan forced (115 degrees celsius standard) and bake for 1 ½ hours without opening the oven (we really can’t stress this enough, no peeking!) Having the oven on a high temperature beforehand then dropping the temperature once the Pav is inside to cook helps to form that lovely crust on the outside and helps it keep its shape.
After 1 ½ hours turn the oven off and either leave the Pav in the oven overnight to cool or very carefully place it in an airtight container and leave to stand in the kitchen overnight.
When you’re ready to serve, it’s time to make the cream! Place your cream, sugar and vanilla into a large mixing bowl and beat until the cream has thickened and just holds its shape and it’s silky smooth.
Top your marvellous pavlova with the cream and decorate as desired with your fresh fruit and other toppings of choice. We love to use fresh berries and fruit, but you could also use a delicious sweet sauce or topping for a fun twist on this modern classic.