aga pavlova.

For when some family friends came round tonight i was asked to make a pavlova, so i sent M out to get some ingredients and when he had been half an hour i rang him up, only to find him not answering. The time the friends were coming round was looming upon me and in the end he came back. When questioned why he had been so long, he said, 'i had a hair cut'.

I love making meringue, it must be something about the egg whites and sugar, two very simple ingredients turning into something so beautiful and melt-in-your-mouth tasty.
I was grumbling away about not using the electric whisk, but i looked down and the cream was already whipped, and i was shocked! It took so little time for it to turn out in a completely different thickness and texture.

Anyway..here's the recipe. If you do not use an aga then cook at 110C/220F.
If you do have one cook in the bottom of the simmering oven.
Ingredients for the meringue base:
175g caster sugar
3 egg whites
1 (level) tsp cornflour
1 tsp vinegar

Beat the egg whites until they are soft peaks, at which point add the caster sugar in six parts, at each time making sure only to whisk until they are mixed into the mixture, in order to avoid over-whisking. In a small bowl mix the cornflour and vinegar, and then whisk that into the egg whites and sugar mixture. If it needs any extra whisking to make the mixture into strong, glossy peaks, do it now, although it might not.
Get ready a silicone sheet on a metal tray and draw a roughly 8-9 inch circle onto it. Spoon the mixture inside the circle, and make it go up at the sides, with a dip in the middle (like the top of a volcano although it goes a lot lower, make sure it still has a floor though). Bake for around about an hour and a half, or until the meringue is cooked and take out of the oven and let it cool until cold.

Ingredients for the pavlova topping:
300ml double/heavy cream
225g fresh fruit (i used strawberries and raspberries)

Whip the cream until it has strong peaks (it is best to do this with a hand mixer, other you may step over the thin line of overdone without knowing it), and spoon into the centre of the meringue base, spreading it out to where the sides go up.
Rinse and chop any bits off the fruit not needed- e.g, the strawberries stalks- and place them on top of the cream, et voila!

It is best not to add the fruit very early on beore you eat the pavlova as it might go soggy.
Anyways..enjoy!