Nicoles Rhubarb Strawberry Pavlova Food

NICOLE'S RHUBARB-STRAWBERRY PAVLOVA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Line two baking pans with parchment paper. Set aside. In the bowl of a heavy-duty electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites, salt, vanilla extract, and cream of tartar on medium-high speed until medium peaks form. Slowly add sugar; continue beating until firm peaks form. Fold in cornstarch.
• Transfer mixture to a large pastry bag. Use scissors to cut 3 inches off of the tip. Pipe mixture into eight large mounds onto prepared baking pans. Bake until meringues are crisp on the outside but their consistency resembles marshmallow on the inside, about 1 hour. Serve with poached rhubarb with strawberries, yogurt cream, and strawberry sauce.

INDIVIDUAL RHUBARB RIPPLE PAVLOVAS

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 140C/120C fan/gas 1. Line two large baking sheets with non-stick baking parchment. Draw eight circles, 6-8cm in diameter, on the parchment, then flip over. In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gradually whisk in the sugar until thick and glossy, then the cornflour. Pile the meringue in soft swirls onto the marked circles on the baking parchment, then bake on the lowest shelf for 1 hr until crisp on the outside and dry underneath. Cool, then gently peel off the paper. Can be made up to a day in advance, just store in airtight containers.
• Place the rhubarb batons in a large pan along with the sugar, vanilla and about 200ml water. Bring to a gentle simmer, then cook very gently until just soft. Discard the vanilla. Remove the rhubarb from the pan, reserving the cooking liquid. Purée half of the fruit with a hand blender or liquidiser, then strain into a bowl through a fine mesh sieve.
• Reduce the rhubarb cooking liquid until thick and syrupy. Leave the rhubarb and syrup to cool. Can be made up to two days ahead and chilled until needed.
• To serve, whip the cream until it just forms peaks. Carefully ripple the rhubarb purée through the cream. Plate each meringue and spoon on some of the rhubarb rippled cream. Top with the remaining batons and spoon some of the rhubarb syrup on top and around the plate.

NICOLE'S STRAWBERRY SAUCE

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, combine strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice. Cook over low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium high, and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until strawberries are soft and have released most of their juice, about 10 minutes.
• Strain mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium bowl. Chill until ready to use.

MINI STRAWBERRY RHUBARB PAVLOVAS

Steps:

• For the meringues: Preheat your oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a small bowl, stir together the sugar and cornstarch and set aside.
• Wipe a metal, glass or ceramic bowl out with paper towel and add in the egg whites and salt. Using a hand mixer, whip the egg whites on high until soft, foamy peaks form. With the mixer running, slowly sprinkle in the sugar mixture and continue to whip until the meringue is glossy and stiff peaks hold when the beaters are lifted out of the mixture.
• Whip in the vanilla. Using a large spoon, drop four large dollops of the meringue onto the prepared baking sheet, creating an indentation in the middle of each.
• Bake for 1 hour. Turn the oven off and allow the meringues to sit in the oven until cooled completely, about 30 minutes.
• For the toppings: Meanwhile, combine the strawberries and rhubarb in a small saucepan with the wine or water and 1/4 cup sugar. Place over medium-low heat and cook for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until the fruit starts to break down and becomes jammy. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool to room temperature. Cover and store in the fridge until ready to assemble.
• Just before serving, whip the cream with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar and the vanilla. To serve, dollop whipped cream in the center of each pavlova and top with the fruit and a scattering of toasted almonds.

NICOLE'S POACHED RHUBARB WITH STRAWBERRIES

Steps:

• Place rhubarb in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan, combine sugar, vanilla bean, orange zest, and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, and immediately pour over rhubarb. Set aside until rhubarb is soft and tender, about 1 hour. Drain rhubarb. Chill, reserving syrup for another use. Stir strawberries into rhubarb mixture.

STRAWBERRY PAVLOVA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2.
• Using a pencil, mark out the circumference of a dinner plate on baking parchment.
• Whisk 4 egg whites with a hand mixer until they form stiff peaks, then whisk in 250g caster sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, until the meringue looks glossy.
• Whisk in 1 tsp white wine vinegar, 1 tsp cornflour and 1 tsp vanilla extract.
• Spread the meringue inside the circle, creating a crater by making the sides a little higher than the middle.
• Bake for 1 hr, then turn off the heat and let the Pavlova cool completely inside the oven.
• When the meringue is cool, chop 100g of the hulled strawberries. Mix them with 100g of the redcurrants and 2 tbsp icing sugar.
• Place in a food processor, blitz until smooth, then push the fruit mixture through a sieve.
• Whip 350ml double cream with the remaining 1 tbsp icing sugar and spread it over the meringue. Put the remaining 400g hulled and halved strawberries and 100g redcurrants on the cream and finally pour the sauce over the whole lot.

STRAWBERRY-RHUBARB ROLLED PAVLOVA

Steps:

• Pavlova: Preheat oven to 400°F. Brush a 9-by-12 1/2-inch rimmed baking sheet (quarter sheet pan) with butter. Line with parchment, leaving a 2-inch overhang on long sides; butter parchment. Whisk egg whites with salt on medium-high speed until soft peaks form, about 2 minutes.
• Continue whisking, gradually adding granulated sugar, until fully combined and stiff, glossy peaks form, 7 to 9 minutes more. Beat in vanilla, then cornstarch and vinegar. Spread mixture evenly into prepared sheet.
• Reduce oven temperature to 375°F and bake until pavlova puffs and collapses slightly, and turns golden brown and crisp on top, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven; let cool on sheet on a wire rack 5 minutes. Lightly dust top with confectioners' sugar. Turn out onto wire rack lined with a new piece of parchment, then peel off baked parchment and let cool 20 minutes more.
• Filling: Spread jam evenly over pavlova, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Top with sliced strawberries in a single layer. Beat cream on medium-high speed to stiff peaks, then spread evenly over berries. Starting from one long end, roll up pavlova to form a tight log (lift with parchment from rack to make rolling easier), and place on a serving platter, seam-side down. If not serving immediately, refrigerate, wrapped in parchment, up to 1 day.