Sunday, November 27, 2011

Upside Down Lemon Meringue Pie Pavlova



Being part of a pavlova blog hop meant that in order to add something a little different to the mix, creativity was the key. I looked around my kitchen and had heaps of lemons, and thought about making a lemon meringue pie. Then it dawned on me that instead of a pie, I could do an upside-down version and use it as my pavlova entry!

Straight lemon curd I felt would be a little overwhelming on the already sweet pavlova base, so I merged the traditional cream with some home made lemon curd to make a tangy creamy topping.

Upside Down Lemon Meringue Pie Pavlova
To balance against the sweetness, I picked raspberries and blueberries which aren't as sweet as other fruit.

I wanted to replicate the pie base texture so I crumbled a little lemon shortbread on the top. It was a nice addition giving a little extra texture as well as the crisp pavlova shell.

The result was an indulgent dessert! Perfect for a summer evening!

Pavlova

4 Egg whites
200g Caster sugar (for 5 egg whites: 220g caster sugar, for 6 egg whites: 250g caster sugar)
2 tsp corn flour
1 tsp vanilla essence
  • Pre heat oven to 100º;
  • Line a baking tray with baking paper;
  • Whisk egg whites till they form hard peaks and the bowl can be turned upside down without the egg whites moving;
  • Slowly add the caster sugar spoon at a time;
  • When sugar is combined and mixture is glossy, add corn flour and vanilla essence;
  • Scoop the mixture on to the lined tray and cook for 1 hour - 1 hour 20 mins until the outside is just crisp;
  • Leave the pavlova to cool in the oven with the door open for a few hours till the oven is completely cold. Close the door and leave till cool. 
Home-made Lemon Curd
Lemon Curd
this makes extra lemon curd but it can be kept in the fridge for a few weeks

2 eggs + 2 egg yolks
165g caster sugar
80g butter
zest and juice of 2 lemons

I used my saucier for making the lemon curd, but I don't know if this is a gadget that features in many kitchens. For those who don't have every gadget under the sun:
  • Stir the eggs with sugar until the mixture is smooth; 
  • Add the zest and lemon juice; 
  • On a low heat, stirring constantly, gradually add the butter; 
  • Keep stirring until the mixture is thick. This will probably take about 20 -30 mins; 
  • When thick, pour into a jar and cool completely.
Before the Oven - Lemon
Shortbread Crumb
Lemon Shortbread Crumb
this makes 12 fingers - you only need 1 for the pavlova recipe so if you want to drop a step, just use a bought shortbread finger!

125g plain flour
80g butter
40g caster sugar
zest of 1 lemon

  • In the food processor whiz the flour and butter until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs; 
  • Add the caster sugar and zest, and combine;
  • Knead the mixture till smooth and shape into a 2cm diameter sausage;
  • Wrap with Cling film and chill for 30 mins; 
  • Preheat the oven to 170º; 
  • Slice the chilled shortbread dough into 0.5cm slices; 
  • Lay on a baking tray and bake for 10 - 15 mins until golden brown; 
  • Remove from the oven and cool.
The "finished" product
Assembling

300ml thickened cream
handful of raspberries
handful of blueberries

  • Whip the cream until it reaches a stiff peak consistency;
  • Gently fold in half of the lemon curd. Try not to completely combine the curd, but swirl it into a ripple effect;
  • Top the pavlova with the lemon curd cream mixture;
  • Decorate with raspberries and blueberries;
  • Crumble 1 small shortbread piece over.


13 comments:

Delicieux said...

That's so funny that you did an upside down lemon meringue pie pavlova because I was actually thinking of doing that!! Great minds think alike!! Your pavlova looks amazing...and delicious!!

Anonymous said...

I love the addition of shortbread crumbs - I think it would a lovely textural contrast to the gooeyness and softness of the marshmallow, cream and meringue.

There are lots of my favourite flavours here - mmm!

So happy that you joined us for the blog hop :D

ChopinandMysaucepan said...

Dear Michelle

I love summer berries and your pavlova looks awesome when you've added all those raspberries and blueberries as well!

Bizzy Lizzy's Good Things said...

Michelle, what a lovely idea and that pavlova looks stunning! Please pass me a dessertspoon!

Musings Of Taste said...

Hi Michelle, I just wanted to eat it after seeing the shot of the half chomped finished product! Yum.

jeroxie said...

Shortbread crumbs sound so yummy! Love this idea.

Nic@diningwithastud said...

Ohhhh shortbread is such a weakness of mine haha! Looks great!

Anonymous said...

Love the combination and the addition of the shortbread. Great to make use of all the egg yolks!

Amanda said...

What a gorgeous idea. I adore lemon curd and am very happy to find more ways to eat it!

Katherine Martinelli said...

What a fabulous idea!! So creative. I love love love lemon curd so this sounds right up my alley!

Liz said...

Oh dear - I should not have started checking out the blog hop posts tonight - now I want to try this out! Wonderful idea, have bookmarked for later :)

JJ @ 84thand3rd said...

Love this idea (probably because I love Lemon Meringue - how convenient!) V-impressive that you made the shortbread too - nice one.

Julie said...

love the idea with the crumbled shortbread! Might steal your idea ;)

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