As the egg whites are whipped with sugar, they become a soft, glossy cloud that’s hard to resist eating as is, which is why we've used the Swiss meringue method: heating the mix over a water bath before whipping makes it safe to enjoy straight from the bowl.
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Yields:
8
Prep Time:
30 mins
Cook Time:
1 hr 20 mins
Total Time:
1 hr 50 mins
Ingredients
4 medium egg whites
225 g caster sugar (or, exactly double the weight of the egg whites)
2 tsp. cornflour
2 tsp. white wine vinegar
FOR THE GINGERNUT CRUMBS
60 g gingernut biscuits
25 g salted butter
1/2 Tbsp. light brown sugar
FOR THE LIME CURD
200 g condensed milk
Zest 1 lime plus 70ml lime juice
300 ml double cream
Thin slices of lime peel
Directions
Step 1Fill a small/medium saucepan ¼ of the way with water and bring to the boil. Meanwhile, whisk the egg whites and sugar together in a stand-mixer bowl that will easily sit on top of the saucepan. Lower the heat in the saucepan to a simmer and place the bowl on top. Continually whisk the mixture until the sugar has completely dissolved and the mixture thickens, about 4-5min. Transfer the bowl to the stand mixer. Combine the cornflour with the vinegar. Using the whisk attachment, whisk at high speed, adding the cornflour mixture at the start. Whisk until glossy and balling up in the whisk, about 5min.
Step 2Preheat the oven to 140°C (120°C fan) mark 2. Secure a piece of baking parchment to a large baking tray using a few blobs of meringue. Place a plate with a diameter of roughly 21cm on the paper and lightly draw a circle. Dollop the rest of the meringue into the centre and shape into a crown with a deep centre and high sides. Transfer to the oven and reduce the heat to 120°C (100°C fan) mark ½ and bake for 1hr 10min. Turn the oven off, do not open the door and leave the meringue inside to dry out for at least 4hr. It can even be left overnight.
Step 3For the crumb, place the biscuits in a ziplock bag and bash until they resemble sandy breadcrumbs. Melt the butter in a frying pan over a medium heat. Swirl the pan occasionally until the butter foams, smells nutty and caramelised brown specks form at the bottom of the pan, about 3-4min. Lower the heat and stir in the gingernut crumbs and sugar. Stir continuously for 1-2min until the crumbs are toasted. Transfer to a plate and leave to cool.
Step 4For the curd, whisk together the condensed milk, lime juice and zest until thickened. Transfer to the fridge and leave to thicken further for 30min.
Step 5Before serving, softly whip the cream until just starting to thicken. Fold in 100g of the lime curd. Sprinkle 1/3 of the crumbs at the bottom of the meringue. Dollop on the cream. Drizzle over the remaining curd and finish with the lime peel and remaining crumb. Serve.
GH TIPS
A clean bowl makes all the difference when making meringue– even the slightest trace of grease or fat will coat the egg whites, preventing them fromt rapping enough airt o transform into voluminous meringue.
If using the classic French method (making meringue without the water bath), add the sugar slowly when whisking your egg whites. Adding sugar too fast weighs down the egg whites, leading to a deflated mix with a grainy texture.
No matter how tempting, don’t open your oven door once, during or even after your pavlova base has baked, until completely cool. Doing so creates a sudden temperature change that can cause the meringue to deflate or crack.
Per serving:
Calories: 465
Protein: 5g
Fat: 26g
Saturates: 16g
Carbs: 54g
Sugars: 49g
Fibre: 0g
38 easy dinner party dessert recipes to finish any meal in style
Nadine is the Kitchen Editor, creating delicious, exciting recipes for GH. Her background is eclectic – time spent as a teen mag website editor interviewing the likes of Lady Gaga before becoming a standby contestant for GBBO - and it shows in her style cooking. Full of flavour, interesting stories and fun!
