Delicious UK - (07)July 2020

deliciousmagazine.co.uk 17

food memories.

Throughoutmycareer,onethingI couldbecertainofis

thatwhenI wasoutandaboutmeetingpeopleatbooksignings

ordoingQ&As,therewouldalwaysbea questionabout

meringue.Meringueseemedtoplaguepeopleandtherewas

a generalconsensusthat,tomakeit,theyrequiredspecial skills

beyondthereachofeverydaycooks.CouldI help?

ThankfullyI wasabletonarrowitdowntoonlytwo

essentials.One,tolearnhowtowhisktheeggwhitescorrectly

andtwo– whichisthemostvitalpart– whathappensinthe

oven.BeingabletoteachhowtowhiskeggswhitesviaTVand

nowonlinetakescareofnumberone;andnumbertwosimplyinvolvesa lowtemperature,

thenswitchingtheovenoffandallowingthemeringuetostaythereuntiltheovenis

cold.MyteamandI didlotsoftestingandfoundvariousadditionslikevinegarmade

nodifferencetotheendresult.Lightandcrispwitha slightlychewycentre. There

really isn’t any mystique – all you need, as always, is the right recipe.

Strawberryand

vanillapavlova

SERVES 6

FORTHEMERINGUE

• 3 largeeggwhites


• 175ggoldencastersugar


• 400gfresh ripe strawberries,
  hulled


• 1 dessertspoon caster
  sugar

FORTHEFILLING

• 1 x 250gtubmascarpone,chilled


• 1 teaspoonpurevanillaextract


• 1 x 200gtubnatural French
  fromagefrais


• 1 roundeddessertspoon golden
  castersugar


• Icing sugar to dust

Preheattheoven to 150°C,

gas mark 2

EQUIPMENT

• Youwillneeda Silverwood/Delia
  Onlinebakingsheetand
  Bake-O-Glide/DeliaOnline
  washableand reusable liner,
  or similar

NEXT

MONTH

Delia’schicken

Basque

METHOD

Forthemeringue,placetheegg

whitesina largecleanbowland

whiskthemuntiltheyformstiff

peaks(it’sveryimportant,though,

nottoover-whisktheeggwhites

because,if youdo, they will start

to collapse).

Nowstarttowhiskinthe175g

sugar,abouta tablespoonat

a time,whiskingaftereachaddition

untilallthesugarisin.Nowtake

a metaltablespoonandspoon

aboutonethirdofthemeringue

mixtureontothepreparedbaking

sheet,forminga circle about

20cm in diameter.

Thenspoonroundblobsnextto

eachothersothattheyjoinupto

forma circleallaroundtheedge.

Now,usingthetipofa skewer,make

littleswirlsinthemeringue.Popit

intheoven,thenimmediatelyturn

downtheheatto140°C,gas mark 1

and leave it for 1 hour.

Thenturntheheatrightoffbut

leavethepavlovainsidetheoven

until it’s completely cold.

Whenyou’rereadytoservethe

pavlova(oruptoanhourahead),

whiskthefillingingredients

together.Nowputonethirdofthe

strawberriesintoa minichopper

ora processoralongwithone

dessertspoonofsugar,thensieve

intoa bowl.Halvetheremaining

strawberries,leavingthesmall

oneswhole.Thenliftthepavlova

fromthelinerandplaceit ona

servingdishora stand.Nextspoon

thevanillacreamintothecentre,

arrangethestrawberriesontopand

dustwitha littlesiftedicingsugar.

Pourthepuréeoverjustbefore

serving, cut into wedges.

Note:anysoftfruitcanbeused:

strawberries,raspberriesand

redcurrantsareparticularlynice

andinthewinterit works really well

with passion fruit.

Recipe:©DeliaSmith1978,adapated
fromDelia’sCompleteCookery
Course,publishedbyBBCBooks.
FormoreDeliarecipesandcookery
schoolvideos– includinghowtowhisk
eggwhitesandmakemeringuesand
PORTRAIT: TREVOR LEIGHTON. FOOD PHOTOGRAPH: RICHARD JUNG pavlova, visit deliaonline.com