Strawberry Pavlova
Ingredients:
6 egg whites
320g caster sugar
1 tabsp cornflour
1 tabsp white wine vinegar
For the Topping:
350g fresh strawberries
350ml fresh cream softly whipped
Few sprigs fresh mint
8-10 Borage flowers or any edible flowers
For the Compote
250g fresh strawberries
Few sprigs fresh mint
75g castor sugar or to taste
2 tsp cornflour
Method:
Preheat the oven to 130oC. Using a pencil, mark out a 20cm circle onto a sheet of parchment paper. Place the paper on a flat baking tray.
Separate the egg whites into a spotlessly clean bowl and on a medium speed, whisk until they form soft runny peaks. Next add 1 tablespoon of sugar at a time until you have stiff glossy meringue ( about 8-10 minutes). Reduce the mixer to a slow speed and fold in the cornflour and vinegar. Continuing on a slow speed, mix for a further minute.
Spoon the meringue onto the parchment paper and smooth and shape with a pallet knife. Bake in a preheated oven for 10 minutes. After this, reduce the heat to 100oC and bake for further 2 hours. Turn off oven, but leave the Pavlova inside for at least 4 hours to cool or overnight is best. Do not open the door of the oven.
To make the compote. Add the diced strawberries into a small saucepan along with the caster sugar and fresh sprigs of mint. Place over a low heat and allow sugar to dissolve stirring from time to time. Ones fruit has soften remove from the heat, discard the used sprigs of mint and blitz with a stick blender until smooth. In a small bowl add the cornflour along with a drop of cold water to make a paste. Add this to the saucepan over a low heat. Stir with a wooden spoon and allow to thicken for a few minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Store in the fridge, covered until needed.
To decorate. Carefully remove the pavlova case from the baking tray onto your serving platter, Spoon the strawberry compote over the base followed by the fresh cream. Add the sliced strawberries on top and randomly decorate with sprigs of fresh mint and borage flowers.
