Super Easy Brown Sugar Pavlova

I love pavlovas. I mean, who doesn’t?! Crispy sugary sweet edges and gooey marshmallow centre, topped with fruit and enough whipped cream that negates any healthiness from the fruit 😛 Strawberries were strangely ridiculously cheap at the shops so several punnets were procurred. Into the basket they went, along with a tub of cream as I wanted a simple dessert and strawberries & cream is always a winner with me. Ooh or strawberries and ice cream. But then I was in the baking aisle and a packet of brown sugar was calling out to me and so it was decided: brown sugar pav for afternoon tea!

The brown sugar makes the meringue awesome and tastes like caramel! This recipe from Taste is ridiculously easy but it does take a couple of hours to bake and cool. The pav only needs 3 ingredients for the meringue and then it’s up to you to decide what to top it with! Ready? GO!

Ingredients for meringue:
5 egg whites
200g brown sugar
Pinch of cream of tartare
Topping:
Thickened cream
Fruit

Oh and hey guys I’d like you to meet the new love of my life: Ken, my pinkalicious Kenwood Kmix! My old mixer carked it about a month ago and I’ve been making do with the puny muscles in my arm and then the awesome peeps at Kenwood heard my plea and like magic this sexy beast arrived and I can’t wait to show you guys some pink creations in the next coupla months! If there’s anything you’d like to suggest email me 😀

Preheat oven to 150C. Whisk the 5 egg whites and a pinch of cream of tartare until soft peaks form. Add the brown sugar a spoonful at a time, whisking until just combined after each spoonful.

After the last of the sugar has been added, continue to whisk for a further 2-3 minutes or until the mixture is very thick and glossy, all the sugar has dissolved and a long trailing peak forms when the whisk is lifted.

Spoon the mixture onto lined baking tray. You can make one normal sized pavlova shape or about 6 mini pavlova nests. Once the tray is in the oven immediately reduce temp to 120°C and bake for 1 and a half hours or until the meringues are crisp and sound hollow when tapped on the base. Turn the oven off, leave oven door ajar and allow the meringues to cool in the oven – this will take 3-4 hours.

Store your meringue in an airtight container (for up to 3 weeks) until you’re ready to eat and then whip up some cream, dollop on top, chuck on some fruit and awaaaay you go!

Oh and just a lil sprinkle of icing sugar can’t go wrong 😛