ShowMe South Africa

Peach and Passion Fruit Pavlova Recipe

For the Basic Meringue

• 6 free-range egg whites
• 350 g castor sugar
• 1tsp white wine vinegar
• 2 level tsp cornflour
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Heat oven to 130°C. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper. In a large bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff. Whisk in the castor sugar until glossy and it forms stiff peaks; then whisk in the vinegar, cornflour and vanilla.
2. Spoon ²/₃ of the meringue into 1 tray, and spread it out with a spoon to a 25 cm circle with a slight ‘lip’; use the remainder for a 15 cm circle on the other tray. Put the smaller meringue on the lower shelf, the larger above and bake for 1 hr 30 min. Cool in the oven.

For the Filling

• 600ml cream
• 75 g icing sugar, sifted
• 4-8 tbsp fruit liqueur (to taste)
• 6 ripe peaches or nectarines
• 4 sliced, 2 cut into chunks
• 4 passion fruit, seeds removed

1. Whisk together the cream and icing sugar until quite thick. Add the liqueur to taste and whisk briefly until softly whipped. Chill until required.
2. Using a stick blender or liquidiser, purée the 2 chopped peaches with the passion fruit, then pass through a fine sieve to make a smooth coulis.

To Serve

1. Carefully remove the baking paper from the meringues, and put the large meringue on a serving plate.
2. Top with ²/₃ cream, scatter 2 or 3 peach slices over and top with some coulis.
3. Put the other meringue on top, and spoon over the rest of the cream, fruit and coulis.

This shortened feature was taken from the November edition of Essentials. Text & food styling by Lucky Jessop. Recipe by Phil Mundy & Mima Sinclair. Photo by Maja Smend