Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a large baking tray with parchment and mark out 8-3" circles. Flip parchment over.
Combine egg whites and cream of tartar. Whip until soft peaks are starting to form. Gradually add sugar, about a tablespoon at a time. Scrape the sides of the bowl and continue to whip on high speed until stiff and glossy, about 6-7 minutes using a stand mixer.
Add vanilla and whip to combine.
Sift cornstarch over the meringue and fold to combine.
Fit a large piping bag with your desired tip, I used a Wilton 1M.
Fill the piping bag with meringue and squeeze a dab of meringue onto the corners of the parchment to stick it to the baking tray. This will help keep the parchment from moving while you pipe. Place the baking tray on a slightly damp kitchen towel to prevent the tray from moving. Fill in the traced circle, creating a base. Continue to pipe along the edge of the base for two turns, creating a basket.
Place the tray in the oven on the middle rack and immediately turn oven temperature to 225°F. Bake for 80 minutes, turn off the oven and allow meringues to remain undisturbed in the oven until completely cool. Meringues will be firm and hollow sounding with a slight bit of tackiness and chew in the bottom layer.
Lemon Cream
Combine all ingredients except butter in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens, about 7-8 minutes. Whisk in butter until smooth.
Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly before covering with plastic wrap directly on the surface. Allow to cool completely and chill until ready to use.
When ready to assemble pavlovas, which should be no more than 2 hours in advance, whip heavy cream until stiff. Fold whipped cream into lemon curd and fill meringues generously. Top with fresh blueberries and serve.
Recipe Notes
-Using egg whites at room temperature will result in more volume.
-If unable to use castor or superfine sugar, simply grind regular granulated sugar in a mini coffee grinder for about 10 seconds. Even this is not true castor sugar, it breaks down the sugar enough for better absorption into the meringue.
Combine sugar and lavender in a small bowl. Rub lavender buds and sugar together with your fingers to help infuse the lavender flavour into the sugar. Cover tightly and allow to sit at room temperature, preferably overnight. Sift sugar to remove lavender before using.
Preheat oven to 200℉. Arrange 2 oven racks with one in the middle and the second above it. Whip egg whites and cream of tartar until frothy and starting to thicken. Gradually add sugar with mixer running. Once all sugar has been added, continue to beat until stiff peak stage and meringue is glossy, about 8-10 minutes. Add desired food colouring and flavouring and whip just to combine.
Line 2 large baking trays with parchment. Fill a large piping bag fitted with a 446P (10 cm round) tip with meringue and pipe into 1"-1 1/2" kisses, spacing 1" apart on baking tray. To pipe kisses, hold tip vertically 1/2"- 3/4" above tray and squeeze until filling has created a 1"-1 1/2" circle. Stop squeezing and lift up, creating the tail.
Once all meringue has been piped, place trays in oven and bake for 2 1/2-3 hours, checking meringue for doneness at the 2 1/2 hour mark. Once meringues are dry and light with a hollow sound and feeling, turn off oven and allow meringues to remain in oven until completely cooled.
Melt white chocolate in a double boiler or microwave on 30 second intervals until smooth. Dip or decorate meringues in chocolate then decorate with sprinkles if desired.
Recipe Notes
Alternatively, you can use lavender flavouring instead of the infused sugar which will eliminate that step.
Meringues can be piped into any desired shape using other tips if desired.
I found it difficult to dip the bottom of the meringues into the chocolate without breaking off their tips. I therefore spread an arc of white chocolate onto the side of the meringue and dipped in sprinkles.
Combine potato chips, 3tbsp flour, dill, salt and pepper in the bowl of a food processor. Blend until chips have broken down into small crumbs. (the chips with only process so far, so don't be afraid of over processing) Remove coating to a shallow bowl and set aside.
Prepare breading station by adding remaining 3 tbsp of flour to a shallow bowl and seasoning lightly with salt and pepper. In a third shallow bowl whisk egg whites with water. Arrange breading station starting with flour, egg whites and potato chip coating.
In a large dutch oven, pot or deep fryer, heat a minimum of 4" of oil to 350℉ using a candy/deep fry thermometer. Pat shrimp dry with a paper towel and toss in flour to coat. Shake off 6-7 shrimp and add to egg white bowl and toss to coat. Remove shrimp one by one to coating bowl and press both sides of shrimp into coating. The coating will adhere nicely when gently pressed on. Place prepared shrimp on a plate or small baking sheet. Repeat with remain shrimp until all are coated. Drop 5-6 shrimp into hot oil and cook for approximately 3 minutes until golden. Remove with slotted scoop to a paper towel lined plate. Continue with remaining shrimp. Serve immediately with your favourite tartar sauce.
Recipe Notes
-I used Old Dutch Dill Pickle with the addition of a little dried dill, however your favourite brand and/or flavour can be used as is.
-substitute all purpose flour for cornstarch if wanting gluten free.
Using a mini processor or grinder, grind cinnamon hearts until powdery (some bits will remain). In a small sauce pan bring 1/3 cup water to a simmer. Whisk in cinnamon heart powder all at once, stirring constantly until starting to dissolve. Increase heat and continue to stir, melting the candy, approximately 1-2 minutes (some bits will not dissolve). Dissolve cornstarch in 2 tbsp cold water and add to liquid candy, stirring constantly. Allow to boil briefly and remove from heat. Strain while hot, removing any candy bits that refuse to dissolve. Allow to cool, stirring occasionally. Refrigerate until ready to use. Makes about 1 cup.
Cupcakes
Preheat oven to 350℉. Line 20-22 muffin tins with paper cups. In a small bowl whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment beat oil and sugar together until combined. Add eggs one at a time, whisking well after each. Whisk in milk and vanilla and mix until smooth. Add dry ingredients all at once and whisk on medium low until combined. Increase speed and whisk until smooth. Add hot water and whisk on low until smooth and just incorporated.
Divide batter evenly between muffin cups, using 1/3 cup for each. Drizzle approximately 1 tsp of cinnamon heart gel over each cupcake ( I used a plastic squeezable bottle with an approximate 1/8 inch hole). Using a thin device such as a chop stick swirl cinnamon heart gel within the batter, creating swirls. Bake for 16-18 minutes or when a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for 10-15 minutes before moving each cupcake to a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before icing.
Italian Buttercream
In a medium sauce pan combine sugar and water. Attach a candy thermometer to the side of the pan and heat over medium high heat, stirring often until sugar is dissolved. Brush sides of pan with cold water to remove any sugar crystals that have formed on the side. Stop stirring and allow mixture to cook to 230℉.
When syrup reaches 230℉ start beating the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitter with a whisk attachment. Whisk egg whites until soft peaks form. When syrup reaches 240℉ remove from heat and add to egg whites in a slow steady stream with mixer on medium high speed. Egg white mixture will be smooth and glossy when all the syrup is added.
Continue to whisk until egg white mixture is no longer warm to the touch. I like to speed up the process by placing large zip lock bags with ice water around the base of the bowl. Once mixture is cool enough start adding butter by 1" chunks with mixer on high, incorporating butter as you drop it in. Once all the butter has been added, continue to whisk until smooth and light. Add vanilla and 2-3 tbsp of cinnamon heart gel and whisk to combine.
Use immediately or store in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to use. If refrigerating, allow to come to room temperature and re-whisk until smooth before continuing.
Recipe Notes
You will likely notice about the time all the butter is added that the buttercream looks separated. Â Don't panic, continue to whisk at high speed and the buttercream should come together. Â If it does not, it is likely too warm. Â Cool bowl in an ice bath briefly, stirring occasionally for a few minutes. Â Return to mixer and whisk at high speed.
Recent Comments