Banoffee Pavlova Wreath
Preparation time 25 mins
Cooking time 1 hour 10 mins
Serves 10
INGREDIENTS
5 free-range egg whites
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 1⁄4 cups caster sugar
1 Tbsp cornflour
1 tsp white vinegar
2 Tbsp flaked almonds
500ml thickened cream
2 Tbsp icing sugar mixture
2 tsp vanilla bean extract
2 bananas, thinly sliced
¼ cup thick caramel topping or sauce
¼ cup thick chocolate topping or sauce
100g chocolate coated honeycomb, crushed
RECIPE
Preheat oven to 140°C fan-forced (160°C convectional). Line 2 large oven trays with baking paper. Put egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on high, using whisk attachment, until just foamy. Add cream of tartar and beat for a further 5 minutes or until stiff peaks form. Add caster sugar, 1 Tbsp at a time, whisking to incorporate. Whisk for a further 5 minutes or until thick and glossy. Add cornflour and vinegar, whisking until combined.
Spoon 10 mounds of egg white mixture onto prepared trays, using back of a large spoon to make a slight indent in centre and create decorative peaks. Scatter with almonds then bake for 10 minutes. Reduce oven to 110°C and cook for a further 1 hour. Turn off oven and allow meringues to cool completely, with oven door ajar.
Transfer meringues to a large serving platter. Put cream, icing sugar and vanilla in a large bowl and beat, using an electric hand mixer, until soft peaks form. Spoon a generous dollop of cream mixture on top of each meringue and put remaining in a serving bowl.
Scatter banana over meringues and drizzle with caramel and chocolate sauce. Sprinkle crushed honeycomb over the top and serve with cream.
TIPS:
You need eggs to be at room temp for best results
Use 1 egg to ¼ cup caster sugar. The basic ratio.
Use caster not white sugar as its finer and will dissolve more easily
When separating eggs, separate eggs into a separate bowl to ensure no yolk gets into your large bowl of eggs. The yolks is fat, and fat stops the meringue from aerating.
When beating sugar into egg whites, ensure the sugar has dissolved before baking. Test by rubbing a little between your thumb and finger. If grainy, continue to beat.
If you don’t dissolve the sugar, the pavlova will weep during cooking.
