Summer Dessert #3 - Raspberry and Nectarine Pavlovas

By Susannah Blake

From dainty pastel-colored bites to large fluffy clouds sandwiched with cream, meringues have always been a popular offering for afternoon tea. These mouthwatering individual pavlovas, topped with rich cream and fresh fruit, take the humble meringue one step further. Makes about 14.

Ingredients

  • 2 egg whites
  • ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  • ½ teaspoon white wine vinegar
  • 1 ¾ cups crème fraiche
  • 1 pint raspberries
  • 1 ripe nectarine, pitted and cut into thin wedges
  • Confectioners’ sugar, to dust (optional)

  • 2 baking sheets, lined with parchment paper


Put the egg whites in a clean bowl and whisk to form stiff peaks. Sprinkle over a couple of tablespoons of the granulated sugar and fold into the mixture. Continue folding in the remaining sugar in the same way, adding the cornstarch and vinegar with the last spoonfuls.

Drop heaped tablespoonfuls of the mixture onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them slightly apart. Using a wet teaspoon, make an indentation in the top of each one. Bake in a preheated oven at 275 degrees for about 45 minutes until dry and just beginning to color. Using a spatula, carefully remove the meringues from the baking sheets and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To serve, top each meringue with a couple of spoonfuls of crème fraiche, a few raspberries and one or two slices of nectarine. Dust with confectioners’ sugar, if liked, and serve immediately.

Reprinted with permission from Afternoon Tea by Susannah Blake. Copyright 2006. Published by Ryland Peters and Small.