Orange and White Chocolate Pavlova (serves 10-12)

Orange and White Chocolate Pavlova by The Fat Foodie

Orange and White Chocolate Pavlova by The Fat Foodie

This orange and white chocolate pavlova is one of the easiest desserts you could ever make and I’ll bet it’s one that’ll be eaten the quickest too. I don’t know about your house, but few sweet things are demolished faster in our household than a pavlova, particularly one which merges a good zesty fruit with sweet sugary shards of meringue and rich, lightly whipped cream.

The combination of creamy orange curd spread over layers of thick meringue which is crisp, but still justĀ  slightly chewy, and sandwiched by silky whipped cream is a great marriage altogether. Although I’ve used orange in my curd you could easily opt to use lemon, lime or even passionfruit instead and any of them would give you a great result.

As this was made as a treat for my family I didn’t make it a dairy-free version, but if you can’t tolerate dairy you could easily adapt the recipe by using non-dairy versions of the ingredients such as oat cream, coconut cream, non-dairy butter and dark chocolate instead of white chocolate.

Orange and White Chocolate Pavlova by The Fat Foodie

Orange and White Chocolate Pavlova by The Fat Foodie

As easy as this orange and white chocolate pavlova is to make there are just a few small, but important, rules you must follow in order to get the best results:

1.) Don’t get any fat in the egg whites. Egg whites will not whisk properly if there is any fat in them whatsoever, so crack each of your eggs into a small bowl before tipping the egg whites one at a time into the bowl you’ll be whisking them up in. That way if you accidentally break an egg yolk you’re only throwing away one egg rather than the whole bowlful. Also, make sure your bowl andĀ electric whisk beaters are spotlessly clean of any residual fats.

2.) Use room temperature eggs as they will be much more voluminous than fridge-cold ones.

3.) Use caster sugar. The egg white bubbles are so delicate that they’ll break more easily if they’re in contact with large pieces of granulated sugar. Therefore, using the smaller sized caster sugar granules will help to retain as much air within the egg whites as possible.

4.) Add a little cornflour to stabilise the egg whites and to create a slightly chewy texture to your meringue.

I made my meringues the night before I was intending to make the pavlova which meant that they could cool down slowly in the oven overnight, ensuring their crust did not crack very much, but you could just use them immediately once they’ve been cooked and have cooled down. Trust me, if you follow these tips you’ll be rewarded with beautiful, big meringues that’ll be just begging to be topped with whipped cream and an assortment of fruits.

Ingredients:

For the meringues:

6 egg whites

375g caster sugar

2 tsps cornflour

For the orange curd:

1 large orange

The zest and juice of 1 orange

6 egg yolks

150g butter (or a non-dairy version)

225g caster sugar

For decoration:

A carton of lactose-free double cream (about 284ml) or a non-dairy version

100g white chocolate (you could use dark chocolate if you prefer)

Method:

Preheat your oven to 180C/160C Fan/350F/Gas mark 4.

Put greaseproof paper on two large baking sheets.

Separate 6 eggs and put the egg whites in a large mixing bowl. Whisk until firm and then whisk in the cornflour and sugar.

Spread three equal circles of meringue mixture onto the baking sheets.

Put in the oven and then turn the oven down to 150C/130C Fan/300F/ Gas mark 2. Bake for 1 hour and then leave the meringues to cool.

To make the curd:

Put all of the curd ingredients into a small saucepan and over a low heat gently whisk it together until it is hot and the curd leaves a thick coat on the back of a spoon dipped into it.

Strain it through a sieve into a bowl and leave it to cool.

To assemble the pavlova:

Break your white chocolate into small pieces and place in a bowl. Leave the chocolate to melt by putting this bowl into a larger one filled with hot water. (Make sure no water gets into the chocolate though, otherwise it’ll seize and will be unworkable.)

Whip the double cream.

Put the first meringue on a serving plate and spread it with the cooled orange curd and then a layer of double cream.

Put the second meringue on top and put the rest of the curd on it, followed by another layer of cream (reserving a little cream for the top).

Put the top meringue on and spread with the last of the cream.

Put the melted white chocolate into a piping bag and drizzle over the top of the pavlova. You could just use a spoon to drizzle it over the cake though if you don’t have a piping bag.

Serve with aplomb to the astonishment and adoration of those around your dinner table and be prepared for people to come back for seconds or even thirds.

Orange and White Chocolate Pavlova by The Fat Foodie

Orange and White Chocolate Pavlova by The Fat Foodie

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