This delicate meringue comes with a lemon, rose and Turkish delight twist for a far-flung take on the British summertime classic
Ingredients
For the pavlova base:
• 6 large egg whites
• 300g caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon cornflour
• 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
• 150g rose and bergamot turkish delight, finely chopped
For the filling:
• 500ml double cream
• 25g icing sugar
• 150g Lemon curd, lemon or lemon and bergamot curd
• 1-2 tablespoons Liqueurs and cellos, limoncello or bergamot-cello
• 50g rose and bergamot turkish delight, finely diced
• a few crystallized or fresh rose petals, to decorate
Method
1 First make the meringue base – this can be made ahead of time and kept for several days in an airtight container, or frozen.
2 Preheat the oven to 160°C. Draw a circle the size of a dinner plate on a piece of baking parchment, for guidance, and turn the parchment upside down.
3 Whisk the egg whites until they have reached the soft peak stage – airy and light, but not yet very stiff and dry.
4 Start adding the sugar, a dessertspoon at a time, whisking vigorously, until all the sugar has been incorporated and the meringue is glossy and keeps its shape.
5 Mix the cornflour and vinegar together and incorporate this, then fold in the Turkish delight.
6 Spoon the meringue onto the baking parchment, staying within the marked circle. Make a slight dip in the centre if you like and make sure plenty of peaks form by lightly touching the meringue with the back of a spoon and pulling it away.
7 Put the meringue in the oven and turn the temperature down to 140°C. Leave to bake for between 1 and 1½ hours, then turn off the oven and leave in the oven until it has cooled down. The meringue should easily peel away from the paper.
8 To assemble, whisk the cream with the icing (confectioners’) sugar until billowy – make sure it isn’t too stiff.
9 Stir through most of the lemon curd, the limoncello or bergamot-cello and the Turkish delight, but go easy – you want a rippled effect, not homogeneity. Top with more lemon curd, Turkish delight and the rose petals.
Try this:
Stir 75g chopped dark chocolate through the meringue in place of the Turkish delight. Combine the cream with a little orange blossom water, orange curd and a little orange liqueur, then make a quick chocolate sauce with 30g chocolate and 100ml cream, to pour over the top.
Recipe courtesy of Catherine Phipps, extracted from Citrus. Photography by Mowie Kay © Quadrille
