Cherry Almond Vanilla Custard Pavlova Food

PERFECT PAVLOVA

Steps:

• Line a large baking sheet with baking parchment. Using an 18cm round cake tin or plate as a guide, draw a circle on the parchment, then flip it over. Heat the oven to 130C/110C fan/gas ½.
• Rub the reserved lemon half around the inside of a large bowl or stand mixer, then wipe with kitchen paper to remove any butter or oil. Tip in the egg whites and whisk with an electric whisk or the mixer on a low speed until the whites form small, foamy bubbles, about 1-2 mins. Keep going until the mix looks like shaving foam, then add the sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, until it's a thick, glossy meringue. Rub some between your fingers - if you can feel any grains of sugar, keep whisking for a few minutes. Add the cornflour, lemon juice and vanilla, and whisk for another 30 seconds.
• Spoon the meringue onto the baking parchment, into the centre of the circle, and spread it out to the edges with a palette knife. Swipe the knife around the edge, then smooth the top. Bake for 15 mins, then turn the oven down to 100C/80C fan/gas ¼ and bake for 1 hr. Turn the oven off and leave the pavlova inside to cool for at least 2 hrs, or overnight.
• When you're ready to serve, carefully invert the pavlova and peel away the parchment. Don't worry if it cracks a little - it will be covered by the toppings. Toppings to tryWatermelon, lime & mint sugar pavlovaBanana, tahini & salted caramel pavlovaCherry, almond & vanilla custard pavlova

THE BEST PAVLOVA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Draw a 9 inch circle on the parchment. An easy way to do this is to draw around the outside of a 9 inch pan with a pencil.
• In a large bowl, beat egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form. Add 3/4 cup of the sugar gradually, while continuing to whip. Make sure sugar is completely dissolved. Mix together the remaining 1/4 cup sugar with the cornstarch; lightly fold into meringue with lemon juice.
• Spread a layer of meringue to fit circle on parchment, approximately 1/4 inch thick. With remainder of mixture, pipe or spoon swirls around the edges to form a shallow bowl shape.
• Bake at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 1 hour. Turn off oven, but leave meringue in oven for an additional 30 minutes. When cool, the meringue should be hard on the outside, and slightly moist on the inside.
• In a large bowl, combine the cream and half a cup of confectioners sugar, and whip until thickened. Decorate with fruit of your choice; strawberries are excellent.