Fresh Fruit Pavlova

I love pavlova and they are so easy to make. I make them all year round and top with seasonal fruit. I also freeze fruit throughout the year so that I always have something on hand to top a pavlova with. I use Delia's recipe and instructions for pavlova which is:

3 egg white
175g sugar

Whisk the egg whites until they are peaky and the bowl can be turned upside down without the mixture falling out. I then add the sugar in tablespoon by tablespoon and whisk until all the sugar is added and the mixture is very peaky and has a slightly glossy sheen to it. I like to make individual sized pavlovas or as in the above recipe I made one whopping big pavlova by spooning the mixture onto a sheet of baking paper and taking a skewer you give it some swirls and peaks. You then pop it into a preheated oven at 150 degrees Centigrade. As soon as it goes in you turn the heat down to 140 degrees and leave it in there for one hour. When the hour is up you turn the oven off and leave it to cool. Delia says preferably overnight and I do agree with her on this and so I usually make a pavlova in the evening and put a note on the oven so that it doesn't get accidentally turned on that night or in the morning. You can make pavlova and storing it properly they will last for a several weeks in an airtight tin. I did manage to take all the whizzz out of a hand-held blender this summer making pavlovas. Since then I have discovered that I believe my pavlovas taste better when whisked and beaten by hand than by blender...any thoughts on this?

For dressing my pavlova I take a tablespoon of Smy Chutney strawberry and pineapple jam and a handful of different frozen berries and blend them...for this I do use an electric blender! For the above I used frozen blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and blackberries. I spread the pasted thinly over the base of the pavlova. Then I sliced fresh mango and strawberries and added them to the pavlova. I then whipped some cream, or regular cream will do, and added this. Lastly I topped with a few strawberries, dusted with icing sugar, sliced and served.

This year for Christmas I took individual sized pavs and topped with a mixture of cranberries, blackberries, red currants, brandied cherries and their accompanying brandy:

I put them together and heated gently with a bit of brown sugar, sugar and orange juice. I let the mixture cool overnight (with the pavs!) and the next day I topped the pavlovas with the fruit mix some fresh blackberries and a bit of cream. They were a big hit, so big that I forgot to take a photo, but I will definitely be recreating these.

and remember...
it's not your chutney...
it's Smy Chutney.