Vanilla Bean and Mango Pavlova with Macadamia

This week I’m sharing my recipe for the perfect dessert this festive season – easy and delicious individual vanilla bean and mango pavlovas with macadamias. They are so simple to put together and, in this recipe, I’ll show you my method for only using two ingredients, egg whites and sugar, to make the best meringue. I find when you’re using a good mixer, like the KitchenAid stand mixer, there’s no need to add corn starch or vinegar which is commonly done in mainstream recipes. So, it’s saves time and ingredients, and is incredibly straightforward – win, win, win!

The key in making the ultimate pavlova in my very humble opinion, in addition to using just the two meringue ingredients, is making sure you whisk them until the sugar is dissolved. If you don’t make sure the sugar is dissolved or still have granules you can feel when rubbing the mixture between two fingers, the sugar can create a syrup-like substance while cooking and will cause little breakouts of toffee-like caramel in the meringue. That’s no big deal for flavour but can cause the meringue to collapse especially when the toppings are added and result in uneven flavour – pockets of super sweet or eggy flavour.

The other key part to creating a pav to-die-for, is air-drying the wet meringue for a bit before placing into the oven. This really helps to create a crunchy, crispy, light shell, which is heaven to crack a spoon through.

I also think a fruit sauce or curd is vital to a pav. In this recipe, I’m using mangoes because they are in season at the moment and are so nostalgic of Christmas time for me. Plus, the best kind of sauce is one that is smooth and lets the meringue shine, so I used the KitchenAid blender to whip this into stunning puree in seconds.

Although there’s a few steps to this vanilla bean and mango pavlova, everything is made easy and quick using the KitchenAid perfect pair. I can be doing other bits and pieces while the mixer takes care of beating and whipping and I barely have time to blink as the blender smooths the mango into a luscious puree. It’s really something special and highlights such quintessential Australian flavours, making it a must-have on your table this holiday season.

As always, please let me know if you try this one out, and happy cooking! Mel x

Thank you to KitchenAid for sponsoring this post.

Vanilla Bean and Mango Pavlova with Macadamia

Makes 4 individual pavlovas

Meringue ingredients:

2 egg whites

½ cup caster sugar

Mango sauce ingredients:

3-4 mango cheeks

1 tbs maple syrup (optional, only if mangoes aren’t sweet enough)

Cream ingredients:

300mL thickened cream

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

Toppings

½ cup roasted macadamias

Raspberries

Mint leaves

Method

1. Preheat oven to 100C fan-forced

2. Add egg white and a tablespoon of sugar to your stand mixer fitted with the whisk. Whisk on speed 4 until the egg whites begin to turn white and foamy. Then slowly add a tablespoon at a time while mixing until all sugar is added. Continue whisking until the meringue is thick, white and glossy with all sugar dissolved. Check this by rubbing a small amount of meringue between two fingers, if grainy, keep whisking.

3. Spoon 4 equal portions on baking paper lined trays and set aside to ‘air dry’ for 15 minutes. Then place them into the oven for 40 minutes. Once cooked, turn the oven off but don’t remove the meringues from the oven, slightly open the door and let it cool until cold before removing from the oven.

4. In the meantime, clean and dry the mixing bowl and whisk. Add cream and vanilla to the bowl and whisk until medium peaks. Set aside.

5. In your blender, add mango and maple (if using). Blend on a medium speed until smooth.

6. Then add mango puree to the cream and swap the whisk for the paddle. Fold through on the lowest speed until just marbled. Keep in the fridge until the meringues are ready.

7. Once ready to serve, place a meringue on each plate and top generously with mango cream then top with macadamias, raspberries and mint leaves. Enjoy.