In my childhood, summers were spent at my maternal grandmother’s home in the outskirts of Kolkata, feasting on homegrown mangoes, lychees, jackfruits and papayas. In this recipe, I wanted to re-create those memories. Although I couldn’t find quality jackfruits or lychees here in the UK, I’ve tried to use other fruits that represented summer to my kid self. The result is the Indian summer pavlova, with tangy whipped cream, sweet meringue and fresh summer fruits. Judging by my spouse’s reaction, I can safely say he’s a pavlova convert!
Now about the recipe itself: Pavlova is essentially a meringue base, which is made of egg whites and sugar, topped with whipped cream and seasonal fruits. As for texture, meringue should ideally be crispy outside and chewy inside. Don’t worry if you accidentally overcook or undercook your meringue or make a bigger batch than needed; it is so versatile that you can use it in almost any dessert, whether it’s an Eton Mess or a meringue pie or simply scattered over a parfait. Plus, you can make meringues way in advance – just store them in an airtight bag in a cool place, they’ll keep for about 2 weeks.
Cooking time: 25 mins, then resting for 1.5 hours
Prep time: 30-45 min
Serves: 4
INGREDIENTS:
(All tsp and tbsp’s are heaped)
- 5 Large eggs
- 5 x 50g = 250g
- 3 cups
- 200 ml
- 6 tbsp
- 1 ½ tbsp.
- 1 tsp
- 1 tbsp.
- 1 tbsp.
- 1 large pinch
- 2 tbsp
- 1 tbsp
- Caster sugar
- Chopped fruits – papaya, mangoes, watermelon, bananas, grapes
- Double cream/ heavy cream
- Icing sugar (can be substituted with caster sugar)
- Hung plain yoghurt (preferably hung overnight)
- Vanilla essence
- Lemon juice
- Lemon zest
- Salt
- Mixed fruit jam
- Water
- Mint leaves
- Plain whipped cream
- Extra lemon zest
METHOD:
1. Clean your bowl and whisking attachments thoroughly. Makes sure there is no grease or residues, otherwise the meringue will not rise properly.
2. Carefully separate egg whites. You don’t want any yolk at all.
3. In your mixing bowl, add egg whites and whisk on low speed till little clear bubbles form on the surface – should take about 2 mins.
Tip: Always use a glass or stainless-steel mixing bowl for making meringues. It helps if the mixture can adhere to the walls of the bowl.
4. Turn up your whisking speed to medium. Add salt to the bowl.
5. Gradually add sugar and keep whisking till the mixture looks smooth and glossy like white satin and forms firm peaks. This should take about 15 mins.
Tip: Take a little bit of the mixture and rub between your fingers. If it feels grainy, you need to whisk more!
7. Line your baking sheets with baking paper.
8. Divide the mixture into 4 equal parts. Spread each part into a thick circular shape on a baking sheet, about 10cm in diameter.
9. Bake the meringues for 25 minutes 150 degrees Celsius (140 with fan).
10. Turn off the oven, and let the meringues cool gradually inside the oven for 1.5 hours.
11. Take the meringues out of the oven after the stipulated time and ensure they are cool to touch. Don’t worry if there are a few cracks on their surfaces – it’s a part of the charm.
Tip: Resist the temptation to open the door, otherwise the temperature will drop drastically and the meringues won’t cook through. Note:
- Assemble the mini pavlovas about 30 min before serving. This ensures the base isn’t soggy at all when served.
- Pat dry your chopped fruits with a paper towel. Essentially, you want to minimize the amount of moisture in the fruit topping.
- Add the fruits in a bowl, and Gently coat the pieces with lemon juice and zest. Cover and set aside.
- Combine jam and water till it reaches a puree consistency. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, add double cream, icing sugar and hung yoghurt. Whisk till firm peaks form.
- Assembly:
- On each meringue, spread a thick layer of yoghurt-cream.
- Drizzle 1 tsp jam mixture on top.
- Top with mixed fruits – I added about ¾ cup of mixed fruits to each. You alter the amount as you prefer.
- Sprinkle with mint leaves and some lemon zest, drizzle some jam mixture.
- Top with small dollops of plain whipped cream if desired.
Note: You can use this recipe to make two 20-cm pavlovas as well. Just cook for 1 hour in the oven and let them cool as described.
P.S. To make Indian Summer Eton mess, simply break the meringue into bite-sized pieces. In a jar, add a layer of yoghurt-cream, some jam mixture and top with fruit and meringue pieces. It will look different, but taste just as lovely!
Recipe by: Shrukriti Gupta