Mango Pavlova

I mentioned I bought a 2kg box of mangoes, all of which turned out to be already verging on over-ripe when I got them. I made some mango curd with one of them and the recipe uses four egg yolks. This leaves four egg whites: what better way to use them than for a pavlova? I filled it with cream mixed with some mango curd and a little mango juice, and topped it with fresh mango.

I had intended to slice the mango and arrange the fruit tastefully on top of the mango curd cream. As the mango pretty much puréed itself when I cut it, it didn’t quite turn out like that. With a bit more planning next time (ie a less ripe mango) I think it could look pretty good!

The great thing about this combination is that you don’t end up with any leftover egg whites or yolks: you can use the whole of the eggs in one dessert.

Meringue Recipe

Ingredients

4 egg whites

225g caster sugar

Method

I use the method as described by Delia Smith and it gives great results.

Set the oven to 150ºC. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.

Put the egg whites in a large bowl and whisk on a low speed with an electric handheld or stand mixer for about two minutes, until foamy.

Then increase the speed to medium and continue whisking for another minute.

Then increase the speed to high and continue whisking until the egg whites reach the stiff peak stage: the whites should form a stiff peak on the end of the whisk and not fall off.

Whisk the sugar in on high speed, about a tablespoon at a time. You should have a smooth, glossy mixture.

Spoon onto the prepared baking tray. To make pavlova, create a round base and then spoon on dollops of meringue around the sides to create a circle. Make sure they join up to create a nest effect.

Put into the oven for an hour. At the end of the hour turn the oven off but leave the meringue until the oven is cold.

As four egg whites makes a lot of meringue, I made a pavlova with most of it as well as some to be broken up to make Eton Mess:

Homemade Meringue

When the meringue is completely cool it can be kept in an airtight tin and it will keep for quite a while.

For the Filling:

Mango Curd

Remove the peel from your mango and slice the flesh as neatly as possible.

I whipped some double cream and added a tablespoon or so of the Mango Curd. I also added a little of the juice from the mango. As the mango curd is already sweet you are unlikely to want to add any further sugar. Lime zest would also be a great addition.

Spoon the mango curd cream into the base of the pavlova and top with the fresh mango. A sprinkling of lime zest would really finish this off.

Not the prettiest pavlova ever made but still yummy!

Categories: Baking, Desserts, Fruit, Recipes

Tags: baking, cream, Delia Smith, dessert, fruit, mango, mango curd, meringue, pavlova, recipe