Easter Pavlova

This is the dessert I made for Easter this year. I adapted it from Ina Garten's recipe from Barefoot Contessa at Home. I added brown sugar to my meringue for a little color and flavor. I also added half a jar of lemon curd to the cream filling for some tartness. The lemon adds a nice flavor to the berries and cuts the sweetness of the cream and meringue.

Meringue

4 extra large egg whites, at room temperature

pinch of kosher salt

1 cup sugar ( I used 1/2 white and 1/2 brown)

2 tsp cornstarch

1 tsp white wine vinegar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Place sheet of parchment paper on a sheet pan.

Place the egg whites and salt in bowl of electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat the egg whites on high speed until firm, about 1 minute. With the mixer still on high. slowly add the sugar and beat until it makes firm, shiny peaks, about 2 minutes.

Remove bowl from the mixer, sift the cornstarch onto the beaten egg whites, add the vinegar and vanilla, and fold in lightly with a rubber spatula. Pile the meringue into the middle of the baking sheet and spread out to a disk shape with a nine inch diameter. Bake for 1 1/2 hours. Turn off the oven, keep door closed and allow meringue to cool completely in the oven, about 1 hour. It will be crisp on the outside and soft on the inside.

Sweetened Whipped Cream

1 cup cold heavy cream

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 jar lemon curd (optional)

Whip the cream in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment (or hand mixer). When it starts to thicken , add the sugar and vanilla and continue to beat until firm. Don't over beat!

Optional step:

Remove bowl from mixer. In a separate bowl whisk 1/2 jar of lemon curd with 1 cup of whipped cream mixture(this will lighten the lemon curd so that you can easily fold it into the rest of the cream mixture without deflating it). Fold the lightened lemon curd into the rest of the cream mixture until incorporated.

Fruit

You can use any combination of berries that you like. These are the ones listed from the original recipe.

1/2 pint strawberries, hulled and sliced

1/2 pint fresh blueberries

1/2 pint fresh raspberries

Assemble

Toss the fresh berries with 2 tbsp of sugar and let stand for 10 minutes. This will allow the juices from the fruit to create a "sauce" for the berries.

Invert the meringue disk onto a plate and spread the top completely with the sweetened cream. Spoon the berries carefully into the middle of the Pavlova, leaving a border of cream and meringue. Serve immediately in large scoops.