Sunday, May 19, 2013

Pavlova




I can't believe this worked.

It's a vegan meringue topped with coconut whipped cream and berries. The meringue had the texture contrast you want for pavlova: crisp on the outside and marshmallowy on the inside. 

On the PPK, everyone was having lots of success with flaxseed meringue. I gave it a go, but it didn't work out for me. I think I might not have cooked the flax goop down enough. When I whipped it, it did increase in volume somewhat, and got sort of frothy, but not enough. I added the sugar even though I was doubtful it would work, and nothing much happened.

To the 100g flaxseed goop, 100g sugar, and pinch of cream of tartar of the original recipe, I decided to add another more high-tech whipping agent: Versawhip 600K, along with some xanthan gum. (I used 2 grams of versawhip and .5 gram of xanthan.) And, presto, it whipped up beautifully.

I decided to try making pavlova style meringue. I remembered that some people (Mr Nice Guy Cupcakes, I believe) have had success using agar for marshmallow-style meringue (like the topping on lemon meringue pie), so I added some (I think about 1/3 teaspoon of agar powder). If I remember the Mr Nice Guy recipe correctly, the idea was that the agar would activate during the baking step.

I baked the meringue for 30 minutes at 100C, and then as customary for pavlova, left it in the turned off oven to cool. When it was cool, I tried some, and found that at the very centre it was still somewhat liquid. So I baked them again for 30 minutes, and then let them cool down in the oven overnight. Next morning they were perfect.

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