Marketman’s Red Fruit Pavlova

Marketman’s 101 on how to make this pavlova.

Meringue – please read this old post and make one large meringue say 10 inches in diameter. Cook it until it is crisp on the outside and still a bit squidgy in the middle. It will likely crack and slightly collapse in the middle after it cools.

Raspberry coulis – take a bag of frozen raspberries and thaw slightly and put it in a blender with about 1/2 cup of caster or fine sugar and some freshly squeezed lemon juice (say a teaspoon) and if you desire a tablespoon of framboise or raspberry liqueur and blitz this silly. Then pass this sludge through a fine sieve with the help of the back of a spoon until you have a thick vibrant red coulis. This stuff is brilliant on mangoes or peaches and ice cream, drizzled on yoghurt, etc. Keep this covered in the fridge until you assemble the pavlova.

Strawberries – I use local, preferably the smaller ones, and let them ripen a bit more after buying them in the markets. 1-2 days is usually fine to get them to the best they can be. Wash and hull the berries and toss them with just a bit of caster sugar, just enough to get them to render some juices and create a natural sauce of sorts. I use 4-5 punnets worth of berries. Cut the bigger berries in half, leave smaller ones whole. Don’t put too much sugar, you don’t want to make them painfully sweet, just start the juices flowing. In fact, a bit of tartness is welcome in this dessert. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for up to say 3 hours before assembling the pavlova — if you keep them too long in sugar, they kind of cook and get mushy.

Pomegranates – If you happen to have a seriously ripe, seriously red ariled pomegranate in the fridge from the holidays (yes, it was that old, but it was THAT good) then use one of many suggested methods of removing the arils and clearing them of the pith. I do it under water (in a bowl, silly, not a swimming pool) but do it whichever way you please. Set aside cleaned arils and chill in the fridge if you like.

Whipped cream – I go over the top on this – nearly a brick’s worth of whipping cream and I just use the whipping attachment on the Kitchen Aid mixer until the cream has medium peaks. I don’t add sugar because there’s lots of it in other parts of the dessert. When the cream is whipped, I swirl some of the raspberry coulis into the cream, just so there are distinct streaks of it, not fully incorporated into a pinkish whipped cloud.

Assembly:

Place the meringue on a nice serving platter. Pile the streaked whipped cream into the center, and don’t worry if the meringue gives way, but try to keep the perimeter walls intact. Put as much cream as you like, I put all of it. :) Next, pile on the now slightly juicy strawberries (and all their liquid in the bowl) onto the whipped cream. Let a few fall off the meringue like a “I wasn’t trying for the perfection look”. Next, sprinkle on the pomegranate arils. Then drizzle several tablespoons worth of raspberry coulis, making sure to drip some down the sides of the meringue. Don’t use all the raspberry coulis you made, save some for other uses. Finally, put some powdered sugar in a sieve and let it snow over the top of the pavlova. Again, don’t overdo it. Serve immediately to guest oohs and aahs. I promise. :)