Damiano Carrara's raspberry pavlova
The Italian baking supremo Damiano Carrara is back with a beautiful dessert for the warm weather - his summer pavlova with fresh raspberries. He’ll guide us through his perfect meringue recipe, and show us all the tips and tricks to wow at any occasion.
Raspberry pavlova
Serves: 6
Ingredients
For the Swiss meringue:168g egg white (you will need between 5-6 large eggs)168g caster sugar126g icing sugar15g powdered dried raspberry
For the chantilly cream:300g double cream10g sugarSeeds from 1 vanilla pod
For the raspberry gel:150g raspberry puree20g sugar3g agar
To decorate:Raspberries and mint leaves
Method
1. To make the meringue, preheat the oven to 90 C and line a large flat baking sheet with non-stick baking paper. Quarter fill a large pan with water, then heat to a simmer.
2. Place the egg whites and caster sugar in a large heat proof mixing bowl then sit over the pan of hot water. Gently stir the mixture continuously until the mixture is 55C.
3. Remove the bowl from the heat and add the icing sugar. Beat on a medium speed for a couple of minutes then increase the speed to fast until the meringue has cooled down and forms stiff peaks. Add the raspberry powder and beat until dissolved.
4. Spoon the meringue into a large piping bag fitted with a round 12mm nozzle. Pipe the meringue in large dots pastry tip and dress it on top of parchment paper forming a flower by piping in a circular pattern diameter 16 cm. Cook for 3-4 hours, until crisp.
5. To make the chantilly cream whisk the double cream with the sugar and vanilla seeds until thick.
6. To make the raspberry gel, place all the ingredients into a small pan and bring to the boil. Once thickened, pass through a sieve and spoon into a piping bag.
7. Take the meringue and top with the chantilly cream finish with fresh raspberries and fresh mint and some dots of raspberry gel.