Pavlova with raspberries, salted olive oil cream and candied pistachio
The best way to host Christmas is sometimes to lean on a friend for help. They bring a bottle of sparkling? A few extra chairs? Personally, I like to lean on friends for their good recipes. This pavlova base is from the very talented and gorgeous Clementine Day. It's always an easy winner, and I never stress when making it. That is what I truly need for the holiday season-no bloody stress.
Peaches x Goldi
Pavlova with raspberries, salted olive oil cream and candied pistachio
Ingredients
Pavlova
6 egg whites (approx. 120g)
320g caster sugar
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 tablespoon of cornflour
400g raspberries to top the pavlova (you can sub out raspberries for peaches, cherries, strawberries etc other if that’s not your jam.)
Salted olive oil cream
250g pouring cream*
150g mascarpone*
15g Goldi smooth olive oil
100g caster sugar
Fine salt to taste
Candied pistachio
150g raw, shelled pistachios
50g caster sugar
Method
Preheat the oven to 180C fan-forced. Trace out a 22cm diameter circle on a piece of baking paper and lay on a baking tray.
In a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form.
Add sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, beating well between each addition. Continue this until all sugar is added and beat until stiff glossy peaks once all is added.
Add cornflour, vinegar, and cream of tartar and beat again on low until just combined, then return to just below high and beat for a few more minutes. It should be very glossy and holding its shape very easily now. If you have any graininess from the sugar at this stage continue beating until it’s completely dissolved.
Spoon out the mixture onto the circle marked on the baking tray. Try to make it as round as possible and use the back of a spoon to create fun swirls and peaks in your meringue.
Place in the oven and drop the heat to 110 C. Cook for 1.5 hours.
When finished, turn the oven off but do not open the door. Let cool completely in the oven for 5-6 hours or preferably overnight.
On low heat, place sugar and pistachios in a pan. Keep moving the sugar and pistachios around until the sugar starts to melt and starts to candy on the nuts. Be careful not to let the sugar burn, so keep the heat low and the nuts constantly moving. Once all coated, cool down on a piece of baking paper. Wait till cool and either chop or crush them in a mortar and pestle, into smaller pieces.
Loosen your mascarpone in a separate bowl with a whisk, put aside. Whisk your pouring cream, sugar, salt until medium peaks. Add mascarpone to cream mixture, and carefully drizzle in olive oil on medium-high speed until cream reaches stiff peaks. Be careful not to over whip, as the olive oil and fat of the creams can split. I like to whip only a few hours before, so it's cold but doesn’t lose its volume.
Place your pavlova, on your desired plate-top with the olive oil cream, scatter/place raspberries over the cream. Add the candied pistachio. Serve immediately.
* For a vegan alternative, substitute the marscapone and cream by straining a can of coconut cream in a muslin cloth, then whipping with 30-70g of icing sugar (to taste).