Jan Hendrik’s delicious berry pavlova
South Africa’s first Michelin-starred chef, Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen, shares his recipe for a Turkish delight pavlova. Just go ahead and file this under: ultimate summer desserts.
Ingredients:
- Melted butter
- Cornflour for dusting
- Castor sugar: 1 ¼ cup
- Egg whites: 6 large
- Rose water: 1 tablespoon
- Vanilla extract: ½ teaspoon
- Cornflour: 2 teaspoons
- White vinegar: 1 teaspoon
- Double cream: 1 cup
- Castor sugar: ¼ cup
- Chopped Turkish delight: ½ cup
- Mixed fresh berries: 2 cups
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 120°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
- Brush with the melted butter and dust with cornflour. Shake off the excess.
- Make a 23 cm circle in the dusted cornflour. (This will guide you when putting the meringue on the pan.)
- Using an electric mixer, whisk the egg whites in a clean bowl until soft peaks form.
- Add the castor sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating well as you go.
- Continue until the sugar is incorporated and the mix is thick and glossy.
- Add the rose water, vanilla extract, cornflour and vinegar. Mix through.
- Spoon the mix on top of the circle in the pan, smooth the sides and make a slight hole in the top to hold the cream later.
- Bake for 1–1 ½ hours until the meringue feels dry to the touch.
- When it has cooled down completely, move it to a serving plate.
- To make the topping, beat the cream and castor sugar until soft peaks form, then mix through the Turkish delight.
- Fill the pavlova with the sweetened cream, then top with washed berries.
- Sprinkle with dried rosebuds or rose petals if desired.