Pavlova

Ingredients

• 2 egg whites
• 1.5 cups caster sugar
• 0.5 tsp salt
• 1 tsp white vinegar
• 1 tsp cornflour
• 4 tbsp boiling water
• whipped cream
• fresh fruit (kiwifruit, passionfruit, strawberries)

Method

Whisk the egg whites and salt together until they hold soft peaks — roughly five to seven minutes, depending on bowl size and mixer speed. The whites should look glossy and voluminous, not dry or grainy. This is aeration at work: you're trapping air in a protein matrix that will set during baking.

Add the vinegar and cornflour, then continue whisking. The vinegar stabilises the foam by lowering pH, which helps the proteins denature evenly; the cornflour absorbs moisture that would otherwise weep from the meringue during the long, slow bake. Begin adding the caster sugar one tablespoon at a time, whisking hard between each addition. This gradual incorporation prevents the sugar from crushing the air bubbles you've built. After all sugar is in, keep whisking until the mixture is thick, glossy and completely smooth — the sugar crystals must dissolve entirely. This takes another three to five minutes. Test by rubbing a small amount between your fingers: it should feel silken, never grainy.

Add the boiling water one teaspoon at a time, folding gently with a spatula rather than whisking. The water thinners the outer shell slightly, which allows the meringue to crack and collapse in a controlled way during baking — the hallmark of a proper meringue. Without it, you get a dense, tough disc.

Shape the meringue onto baking paper as a single large disc, or pipe individual nests, leaving a shallow well in the centre of each. The surface should look slightly uneven, not smoothed flat. Bake at 180°C for ten minutes — this initial heat sets the outer structure quickly. Drop the temperature to 150°C and bake for a further 45 minutes. The meringue should be pale cream to ivory, never browned. Turn off the oven and leave the door closed; let it cool completely inside as the temperature falls gradually. This slow cooling prevents cracks from thermal shock.

Serve the meringue still slightly warm, or at room temperature. Top with lightly whipped cream and fresh fruit — kiwifruit, passionfruit and strawberries are traditional. Add the fruit just before serving to keep the meringue crisp; the acidity of passionfruit and strawberry will begin to soften it within minutes.