Therefore and heretofore, without further ado:
Mise en place for the Pavlova (recipe is found in the Have the Cake July Challenge)
Stiff. Very stiff.
Piping egg-shaped shapes
Mise en place for curd (recipe can be found in both Rose's Pie and Pastry Bible and in her new book, Heavenly Cakes)
Do you have any idea how hard it was not to slurp this stuff straight from the bowl?
The finished Pavlova egg
Recipe: Eggy Pavlova
For the Meringue (adapted from the Challenge recipe)
Ingredients
4 large egg whites
1 cup berry sugar
1 tsp white vinegar
1/2 tbsp cornstarch
Procedure
1) Preheat oven to 250 degrees Farenheit. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper. Trace egg shapes onto parchment paper (approximately 3"x2").
2) Beat egg whites until they hold soft peaks. Add sugar in small amounts, beating each addition until dissolved. Continue beating until egg whites hold very stiff peaks.
3) Sprinkle vinegar and cornstarch onto egg mixture and fold in.
4) Using spatula, fill decorating bag with mixture. Pipe shapes onto parchment paper. Build up the edges of the shape by piping overlaying 'rims' onto your shape. Finally, smooth the edges and tops a little with the back of a wet spoon. Space yours a little farther apart than I did...they will expand a titch in the oven.
5) Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Turn oven off and let meringue cool completely in oven.
For the Lemon Curd (adapted from Rose Levy Beranbaum's Pie and Pastry Bible)
*Because meringue is quite sweet, I've reduced the sugar in this recipe, so be extra careful when heating the egg yolk mixture! I've also eliminated the lemon zest. Normally, I adore lemon zest, but egg yolks (or representations thereof) shouldn't have little strings in them.
Ingredients
4 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
4 tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp lemon juice
pinch salt
Procedure
1) In heavy saucepan, whisk yolks, sugar, and butter until well blended. Whisk in lemon juice and salt.
2) Cook over medium-low heat until thickened. Do NOT allow it to come to a boil or you'll have scrambled lemony eggs on your hands
3) Optional: strain the mixture to remove any lumpy bits.
4) Cool before using.
To assemble
Spoon dollops of lemon curd into indentations of egg-shaped meringue bases. Garnish, if desired, with sliced strawberries, fresh whole blueberries, or sprigs of mint. Enjoy!
Notes for next time:
Allow the curd to cool completely before assembly.
Shape the meringue more precisely.
It really could use a fresh strawberry or two, if only for the pop of red. Oh, and the taste.