Pavlovas

We went strawberry picking last week and I realized that I needed to do something with the strawberries I did not freeze. They were sitting in the fridge and I worried about them getting too soft.

I've always made strawberry pies, jams or shortcakes but I really wanted to try something I never made before. I remembered a wonderful dessert I had at a restaurant during winter called Schaum torte. I've never had it until that day but my husband just raved about how his grandma used to make it for their Sunday dinners during his childhood. How lucky.

I found a recipe online for Pavlova. It looked exactly the same as the Schaum torte I had eaten except that the Schaum torte was piped into a nest shape and the Pavlova was just dolloped into its shape but flattened out in the middle to look like a nest. I had to give it a try.

As you can see from the photo, it was a great success. I had to make a strawberry topping that was similar to pie filling bit a little thinner. Freshly whipped cream was the perfect addition to make it exactly as in the restaurant. All I have to say is that this recipe is a keeper. And it wasn't terribly complicated, in fact, I had all the ingredients at hand - no special trips to the grocery store!

Individual Pavlovas with Cream Cheese Whipped Cream and Raspberry Sauce

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

Prep Time: 35 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 2 hours 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 6 large egg whites
• 1/4 + 1/8 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Fresh mint , for garnish (optional)

Raspberry Sauce

• 3 Tbsp sugar
• 2 1/4 tsp cornstarch
• 18 oz fresh raspberries (frozen would work too)
• 1/3 cup water

Cream Cheese Whipped Cream

• 8 oz cream cheese
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. In a mixing bowl, whisk together sugar and cornstarch. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip egg whites with cream of tartar and salt on medium speed until soft peaks form, about 3 minutes. Increase speed to medium-high and slowly add in sugar mixture (I just continuously added 1 heaping tbsp at a time one right after the other), then increase speed to high and whip until stiff glossy peaks form, about 5 minutes, adding in vanilla during last minute of mixing.
2. Spoon and dollop meringue into 3 to 4-inch circles (depending on how large you want them) onto parchment paper lined baking sheets then use the back of the spoon to create slight dips in their centers. Bake in preheated oven 60 minutes, then leave in oven with door closed, turn off oven and allow to rest in oven 45 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.
3. To assemble, top meringues with Cream Cheese Whipped Cream then Raspberry Sauce and garnish with mint. Assemble just before serving.
4. For the raspberry sauce:
5. In a medium saucepan, whisk together sugar and cornstarch. Stir in 1/3 cup water. Add half of the raspberries, then cook mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly until mixture has thickened. Remove from heat and cool completely. Stir in remaining raspberries. Store in refrigerator in an airtight container.
6. For the cream cheese whipped cream:
7. In a mixing bowl whip heavy cream until soft peaks form then add sugar and vanilla and whip until nearly stiff peaks form. In a separate mixing bowl, whip cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add cream cheese to whipped cream mixture and whip until stiff peaks form. Store in refrigerator.