Homemade Pavlova With Passionfruit Curd Topping

Homemade pavlova isn’t as intimidating as you think.

Pavlova is a meringue-like dessert made from egg whites. It is baked at a low temperature, resulting in a chewy-crisp texture on top, a soft marshmallow texture inside, and a crunchy crisp texture around the edges.

Tami Steggell shares her recipe for making homemade pavlova, along with the recipe for a homemade passionfruit curd to go on top! Passionfruit is a tropical flavor that is delicious paired with desserts. Tami suggests trying your local Asian market to find fresh passionfruit to top your homemade pavlova.

For more recipes from Tami, you can follow her on Instagram at @BiteMeIndustries.

Homemade Pavlova with Passionfruit Curd

INGREDIENTS

• 6 egg whites = 9” pavlova (202g)
• 1 1/2 cups caster sugar (350g)
• 2 tsp lemon juice (9.6ml)
• 2 tsp cornstarch (5g)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (4.3g)

Top with Whipped Cream

• 1 cup whipping cream (240ml)
• 3 Tbsp sugar (38g)
• ½ tsp vanilla extract (2g)

METHOD

1. Place egg whites into a bowl cleaned with lemon on medium speed, adding sugar a spoonful at a time. Using a wire whip, whip until soft peaks form
2. Add, lemon juice, cornstarch, and vanilla, and whip until soft + stiff peaks.
3. Spoon mix onto parchment, and pile high into the middle of the drawn circle on the parchment. Form your meringue into a circle shape. Make a well in the middle, and sweep the outer edges upward for aesthetics.
4. Bake in the oven for 1:05 minutes, at the end, turn off the oven and allow it to cool in the oven where the temperature is controlled. Do not remove it from the oven. I always place a big note on the door so a family member will not accidentally use the oven while the pavlova is cooling.
5. Top with whipped cream and fresh fruit. You can also add a fruit curd for additional dimension, or drizzle with honey.

Pro Tips

• Preheat oven to 265°F/130°c, pavlova will bake for 65 minutes (1:05hr) and then cool for 4 hours or overnight in the oven. Simply turn off the oven and walk away.
• Draw a circle onto parchment, for use at the end. Turn the drawn side over, so the ink is on the underside of the parchment.
• Pre-wipe the bowl with lemon, the acidity will clean any fats off the surface of the bowl. Egg whites will not create their fluffy magic in the presence of fat, so make sure your beaters are clean as well.
• If you do not have fine caster sugar. Do not worry, measure your regular sugar and give it a quick grind in your food processor.
• Head over to @bitemeindustries on Instagram to find my easy lemon curd recipe and demo.

Citrus Curd

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
• Zest of three lemons, rubbed in sugar
• 6 egg yolks (200g)
• 1/2 cup lemon juice (160ml)
• 1/2 cup butter unsalted, cold (113g)

METHOD

1. Separate the yolks from the whites. You can freeze the egg whites for later use in pavlova, meringue, etc.
2. Zest the lemons. Pulse the lemon zest and sugar together in a Cuisinart or ninja to extract the oils from the zest. You can also use your fingers and rub them in the sugar if you do not have kitchen appliances.
3. Juice the lemons until you have a half cup of lemon juice. Strain out the seeds. (for PASSIONFRUIT CURD skip step #2 and scoop out the pulp of the fruit to equal 2/3 cup, because you will be filtering out the seeds in step #7).
4. Strain egg yolks through a sieve into a pot to remove firm parts. Whisk yolks and sugar until light in color. Slowly stir in lemon juice.
5. Heat on medium-low in a thick bottom pot, while stirring constantly with a wire whisk until the mixture starts to create tiny bubbles and thicken. It is thick when it coats the back of a spatula or spoon.
6. Quickly remove the pot from heat, add cubed, cold butter and mix until melted. The butter emulsifies “bonds” the liquids together.
7. Strain the completed curd mixture through a sieve to remove zest and to accomplish a smooth texture. The final curd will be creamy, tart, and truly lovely.
8. Transfer the curd to a sealable container. If using an open bowl, cover the surface with plastic wrap to avoid a skin from forming.

This recipe works for any citrus fruit: lemon, lime, grapefruit, blood orange, or orange. I have included a modification in step three for making passionfruit curd. My top three flavors are Lime, Passionfruit, and Lemon. Grapefruit, Orange, and Blood Orange are extremely mild, and therefore my least favorite