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The kids are back at school and 2018 is well and truly in full swing. All the adored start-of-the-year holidays have been cashed in. Never fear, however, because Easter is around the corner and with that comes sweet treats. Yippee! We have one little one at home who will be looking forward to the traditional backyard Easter hunt. Personally, I like to make a rather big deal out of this annual event. I tend to go a bit balmy – hand-making signs, writing cryptic clues and hiding tiny chocolate eggs. Last year, my partner and son tramped through our muddy grounds for a good half an hour before they had collected all the goodies. This year, I intend to make the scavenger hunt a tad more user-friendly and focus more on some quality sweet treats for our Easter visitors. Treats with blueberries I have decided, because in just half a cup, the humble blueberry has the same amount of antioxidants as 2¼ cups of broccoli. Antioxidants help protect our bodies against disease and illness. How could I possibly pass up balancing out a sweet treat with a power-house berry?!
Petite Blueberry Cream Pavlovas
6 large eggs at room temperature
1 ¼ cups white sugar
2 tsp cornflour
½ tsp cream of tartar
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
3 Tb berry jam of your choosing or half a cup of passion fruit pulp with seeds
1 cup fresh cream
2 cups fresh blueberries
Handful of fresh mint leaves
Directions
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees and line a large flat baking tray with baking paper. Separate your egg yolks and whites into two small bowls. Save your egg whites for this dish and your egg yolks to scramble in the morning. In a large mixing bowl with a hand beater or a whisk (depending on the muscles in your arms) pour in your egg whites and beat until peaks begin to form. Add the sugar and keep beating until your pavlova meringue forms stiff, glossy peaks. Now add your cornflour, cream of tartar, salt, vanilla and vinegar. Mix gently to combine with a whisk. Spoon out twelve even portions of your meringue on to your lined baking tray. Make a small well in the centre of each meringue.
This will help to hold your cream and berries later on. Reduce the heat of your oven to 150 degrees. Pop your meringues inside and bake for approximately 30 minutes. Keep an eye on your meringues but do not open the oven until they are ready to come out. When ready, let them cool for one hour before you begin to load them up with the berries and cream.
I have two options for toppings here, depending on how much of a sweet tooth you have. The first is that you beat your cream so that it is thick, but not stiff, and then mix in your jam. This is the sweeter option. You then spoon equal portions of the jamilicious cream over your meringues, then smother them with berries and mint leaves. The second option, which I prefer because I like slightly bitter flavours, is to beat your cream as mentioned but leave it plain. Spoon equal portions of cream over your meringues, generously drizzle your passion fruit pulp over each, smother each with berries and a good sprinkle of finely chopped mint leaves. Enjoy your sweet treats and your Easter.
Nicola Bolton
rosierambino@outlook.com
