summer lovin’ the way I like: recipe for pavlova with cream and fresh berries

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I made this gorgeous! stunning! I’m so modest! pavlova for a dinner party on Tuesday night and have been dying to post about it because aside from being absolutely beautiful, it also complements the weather right now perfectly ~ London is in the midst of another little spurt of summer, with the mercury rising into the high 20’s and everyone, everyone, is just happy.

Taking advantage of this summer lovin’, I’ve been walking to and from work for the past four weeks. Ok so I also walked in the rain and cold and wind but somehow it’s just so awesome when it’s warm that I totally forget how utterly miserable London weather can get.

Anyway, I decided to start walking because last month, I finally cancelled my gym membership. I know right? Insane. I’ve been a gym bunny for many many years but it got to a point where I just couldn’t bear parting with £80 a month, not when my work (and social) schedule has me so busy that for the past few months I’ve only been hitting the gym once a week (if that) and really, there are far better ways to spend £80.

Like buying a leather jacket, for instance.

I know there’s some prestige in being a member of a gym though, because I’m sure that all Adonises and Adonisettes are gym members and I’m also sure that just tweeting “I’m going for a workout” instantly disintegrates 10 calories. At least.

There’s also the distinct blue-red membership card of my ex-gym which I kept in my purse and kinda undeliberately but sort of deliberately flashed whenever I paid for anything because having a gym membership also instantly disintegrates 10 calories. Per flash.

So now I’m no longer a member of a gym. Am I worried that I’m gonna quite literally go pear shaped? Hell yes I am, but hey I’m walking! And I’m ….. yeah, I’m just walking but for the record I power walk (yes, like a loser), and I even ordered a pedometer today because I’m gonna count how many steps I take every day. I’m pretty sure that owning a pedometer kills calories too, no?

Anyway, I’m thoroughly enjoying walking to work right now because if nothing else, it means I don’t have to get on the stuffy tubes and stinky buses with the billions of other inhabitants of this city. And it might even help me keep the size of my butt in check.

Oh and what does walking have to do with my pavlova? Well, I went and ate a full half of it on Tuesday night, didn’t I, so yeah, my butt. Big. Must keep walking.

Pavlova with fresh berries (inspired by TasteSpotting)
4 large egg whites
1 cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon vinegar
1/2 tablespoon corn flour
300-500mL whipping cream (depends how much cream you want. I used 500mL because I’m gross like that)
1 punnet strawberries
1 punnet blueberries
  1. Pre-heat oven to 120°C/250°F.
  2. On a sheet of parchment/baking paper, draw an 8″ diameter circle. Turn over, or place another sheet on top but make sure you can still see the circle.
  3. Separate egg whites from the yolk and place in a large mixing bowl. 4 egg whites don’t look like a lot but believe me, they will grow.
  4. Beat at a medium to high speed until soft peaks form. This should only take a couple of minutes.
  5. Slowly add in the sugar while still beating and continue to beat until stiff peaks form. Your mixture should now be a smooth meringue.
  6. Sprinkle vinegar and corn flour over the mixture and fold in with a spatula.
  7. Using a spatula, spoon the mixture onto the prepared baking tray and baking paper keeping the meringue inside the circle. Smooth over and try to make the outside edges slightly higher than the inside edges.
  8. Bake meringue in oven on a middle shelf for 90 minutes. After 90 minutes, turn off the oven, leave the oven door slightly open and leave pavlova to cool for 2 hours or over night if possible.
  9. When ready to serve, beat the whipping cream in a large bowl until it becomes firm enough so that it can hold itself up. Spread across the top of the pavlova.
  10. Wash and prepare strawberries and blueberries, decorating the top of the pavlova. Serve pavlova with any left over berries.
Serves 6-8.
Posted in: Eating In, Foodie, Lifestyle, Recipes

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