Pink Pepper Grapefruit Pavlova
Pavlova has become an international dessert, that famous it is. But with good reason as this cloudy, light as air dessert has earned its place with its texture, ease of making and most of all, taste. Moreover, this pink pepper grapefruit pavlova is a dessert that has the advantage of using leftover egg whites and even fruits, so put your hands up in the air for that! No idea about you, but I always end up with plenty of egg whites and fruits to recycle! So I am happy whenever I get the chance to bake one of these beauties!
I keep getting asked quite a lot about Pavlova, how to store it, when exactly to make it, so here it is – Pavlova is a meringue based dessert; meringues contain a lot of sugar in order to become dry and crispy on the outside; but sugar is hygroscopic which means it absorbs water.. from the cream, from the air… thus leading to a soft pavlova in a matter of hours. Taking all that into consideration, Pavlova is a dessert whose elements can be made one day before, but it needs to be assembled as close as possible to the moment of serving. But (there’s always a but, right?!) you can find ways to delay the humidity absorption, such as brushing the meringue with melted chocolate or even a very thin layer of butter or ghee.
The flavor mix is something I have been thinking quite a lot lately as citrus fruits seem to be my new obssession. So here you have it: a fluffy meringue flavored with pink pepper and a touch of rose water, the creamiest vanilla chantilly, topped with grapefruit segments and a bit of pink pepper for decor. It’s a rollercoaster of flavors!
Pink Pepper Grapefruit Pavlova
Ingredients
Pavlova base/meringue:
- 180 g egg whites
- 200 g white granulated sugar
- 175 g icing sugar
- 10 g cornstarch
- 10 g apple cider vinegar
- 5 g rose water
- 2 g pink pepper (slightly crushed)
Vanilla chantily:
- 380 g heavy cream
- 2 g gelatin + 12g water
- 115 g white chocolate
Decor:
- 1 large pink grapefruit (cut into segments)
- Pink pepper
Instructions
Pavlova base/meringue:
- Start whipping the egg whites until foamy.
- Add the white granulated sugar gradually, whipping on medium speed until all the sugar has dissolved and the meringue is stiff.
- Fold in the icing sugar in two batches, mixing carefully to preserve the air incorporated.
- Once the sugar is all in, add the vinegar, rose water, cornstarch and pink pepper and mix.
- Spoon the meringue on a tray lined with a silicone mat and bake in the preheated oven at 100C for 2 hours. The cooking temperature however, depends on the oven. Try a temperature between 90C and 110C. Also, I prefer to cook it slightly longer (which means to dry it more) because this way it holds the cream better.
- Once done, cool down and use as soon as possible.
Vanilla chantilly:
- Bloom the gelatin.
- Heat up the cream with the vanilla seeds and pod.
- Strain over the chocolate and gelatin in a jug and blend well.
- Wrap with plastic and keep in the fridge for at least 4 hours to allow to cool down completely.
To assemble:
- Whip the chantilly until medium peaks form.
- Spoon the chantilly over the meringue. If you want the Pavlova to hold more, brush the meringue with melted white chocolate before adding the chantilly.
- Top with grapefruit segments and a touch of pink pepper.
- Serve right away.
- Enjoy!
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