The season for Pavlova is here! Why not add a touch of Pepperberry and Australian native bush spice to your traditional sweet dish.
INGREDIENTS
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120 gm eggwhites (about 4)
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200 gm caster sugar
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2 tsp white vinegar
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2 tsp cornflour
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1 tsp ground native pepperberry
Rhubarb chips
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Pure icing sugar, for dusting
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2 rhubarb stalks, thinly sliced lengthways on a mandolin
Baked rhubarb
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400 gm (about 1 bunch) rhubarb
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125 gm caster sugar
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Scraped seeds of ½ vanilla bean
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Finely grated rind of ½ orange
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2-3 rose geranium leaves or rosewater to taste
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2 tbsp sparkling wine
Vanilla cream
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250 ml pouring cream (1 cup)
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75 gm fromage blanc (see note)
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25 gm caster sugar
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Finely grated rind of ½ lemon
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Scraped seeds of 1 vanilla bean
METHOD
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For rhubarb chips, preheat oven to 90C or lowest setting. Line a baking tray with baking paper and dust with icing sugar. Place rhubarb slices on tray in a single layer, dust with icing sugar and dry in oven overnight. Store in an airtight container for up to a day.
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For baked rhubarb, preheat oven to 180C. Place rhubarb in a colander and rinse under running water, shake off excess water and combine rhubarb in a bowl with sugar, vanilla seeds, orange rind and rose geranium leaves. Stand for 30 minutes for juices to seep, then spread in a baking dish, drizzle with wine and bake for 10 minutes, then check every few minutes until rhubarb is tender but not falling apart (8-10 minutes). Set aside to cool completely.
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Preheat oven to 150C and line a baking tray with baking paper. Whisk eggwhite in an electric mixer until frothy, add half the sugar and whisk on high speed until glossy (6-8 minutes), then, with motor running, add remaining sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, whisking continuously to firm peaks. Whisk in vinegar, cornflour and pepperberry – this will loosen the mixture a little so keep whisking until you achieve firm peaks again. Rub a little mixture between your fingertips to check whether sugar has dissolved – if not, keep whisking and check again. Pile on tray in a 20cm-diameter round, bake for 15 minutes, then reduce oven to 120C and bake until crisp but not coloured (50 minutes to 1 hour). Turn off heat and let cool completely in oven.
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For vanilla cream, whisk ingredients in an electric mixer to soft peaks and refrigerate to chill.
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To serve, divide pavolva among serving plates, then top with freshly whipped vanilla cream, baked rhubarb and juices, and rhubarb chips.
Originally published on Gourmet Traveller
