Christmas Pavlova with Lychee Coulis

Christmas Pavlova with Lychee Coulis

  • Serves: 8–10

  • Prep Time: 20 minutes

  • Cooking Time: 1 hour 15 minutes, plus cooling

Example Product Title

Ingredients

Pavlova

  • 6 egg whites, at room temperature
  • 330 g caster sugar
  • 2 teaspoons cornflour
  • 1 teaspoon white vinegar

To finish

  • 600 ml thickened cream, whipped to soft peaks
  • 150 ml Lush Lychees Lychee Coulis
  • 250 g fresh lychees, peeled and stoned
  • 250 g strawberries or raspberries
  • Mint leaves

Our harvest and Christmas land in the same fortnight. This is what that tastes like.

A pavlova is mostly patience — low heat, and leaving it alone in the oven to cool. The coulis does the rest, cutting through the cream and the sweetness of the meringue with something clean and floral. Fresh lychees on top, if you have them, make it unmistakably ours.

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 150°C (130°C fan). Draw a 22 cm circle on baking paper, then turn it pencil side down on a tray.

  2. Beat the egg whites to soft peaks. Add the sugar a tablespoon at a time, beating a full minute between additions, this takes about 10 minutes and it is what makes a pavlova that doesn't weep.

  3. Rub a little between your fingers. If it feels gritty, keep beating until it is completely smooth.

  4. Fold through the cornflour and vinegar with a spatula, gently.

  5. Pile onto the circle and shape into a round with a slight dip in the middle. Don't smooth it, the peaks are the point.

  6. Turn the oven down to 120°C (100°C fan) and bake 1 hour 15 minutes. Then turn the oven off and leave the pavlova inside, door shut, until completely cold. Cracks come from cooling too fast.

  7. Just before serving, top with whipped cream, then the fruit, then pour the coulis over so it runs down the sides. Finish with mint.

Tips

  • Assemble within an hour of serving. A pavlova topped early goes soft.

  • Any trace of yolk or grease in the bowl and the whites won't whip. Wipe the bowl with a little vinegar first.

  • Freeze the leftover egg yolks, they make the custard for the trifle in our liqueur recipes.
Christmas Pavlova with Lychee Coulis