Double Raspberry Pavlova

Perfectly pink meringue, sweet raspberry curd, fresh raspberries and tart creme fraiche are a wonderful marriage of texture and flavour in these little pavlovas. I have opted to make 6 mini pavlovas, however one large pavlova would work just and well and be equally delicious.

Serves 6

For the raspberry curd

6 oz raspberries (one carton)

2 egg yolks (save the whites for the meringue)

4 oz butter (1 stick)

6 oz Sugar

pinch of salt

In a pan over medium heat, whisk the egg yolks a little and quickly add all the other ingredients. Keep whisking until the butter and sugar is melted, keep this mixture moving or the eggs will scramble. Cook for another 8 minutes, stirring intermittently until the curd has thickened and coats the back of a spoon.

Pass the curd through a sieve to rid it of the raspberry seeds, and store in a little jar. The curd can be kept in an air tight container in the fridge for a couple of weeks.

For the meringues

2 egg whites

2 oz sugar

2 oz  sieved icing / confectioners sugar

Red or pink food colour

Heat the oven to 180℉.

Whisk the egg whites and a teeny tiny amount of the food colouring until the whites are stiff enough that they won’t fall if the bowl is turned upside down. Gently fold in the sugars.

Line a baking sheet with a silicon baking mat or a double layer of parchment paper brushed with a little oil.

The meringue can either be spooned out with an ice cream scoop or piped. You want to create a little indent in the centre either way.

For 6 mini pavlovas, I baked them for 1 hour, turned the heat off and left them in the oven for an additional 15- 20 minutes. A larger meringue will obviously take longer, set the timer for 1 hour 30 minutes and then check. If the tops are dry and crisp but the underneath still wet, carefully flip the meringues over, turn the oven off and leave, check every 10 -15 minutes. I like my meringues to have a little give in the centre.

Remove and let cool. These can be stored in an air tight container for 2-3 days.

Cream Topping

150ml/ 1/2 cup Heavy cream

75 ml / scant 1/3 cup Creme fraiche

Lightly whip the heavy cream and then stir in the creme fraiche. Set aside.

Assembling the pavlova

6oz fresh raspberries

1 oz dark chocolate

I like to crack the top of my meringues before filling them. It creates a lovely little nest to house the mounds of filling.

Spoon 2 tsp of the raspberry curd into the meringue nest, layer on a generous 2 tbsp of the cream, top with some fresh berries and grate on a little chocolate to garnish.

Enjoy, F.

Double raspberry pavlova pdf

Pink limoncello fizz

This is the perfect thirst quencher after a rambling country walk on a sunny autumn day.

The thirst quenching trio

Cobra Commander and I brought the limoncello in Venice on our honeymoon, were thought it was about  time that we opened it. I’ve used a cheap champagne here, but it could easily been exchanged for proseco if you want a little more sweetness.  The cocktail would also then be 100% Italian.

So I started by putting one ice cube into the glass. I love it when there is lemon or lime frozen inside the cube. I brought some trays that do that years ago, always keep at least one in the freezer.

There's a lemon in my ice cube

Three fingers of tongue tingling tart limoncello

Ok, to the cocktail, I measured the in fingers, so pour three fingers of limoncello into the glass. It’s not that much, really, It appears to be more because it was made in a champagne flute and they’re narrow….honest!

Pop the pips

The sound of heaven

Look at those bubbles, and the pretty pink hue

I poured equal parts of the two bubbly mixers, but feel free to add more raspberry sparkletini if you want a sweeter fruitier taste.

Carolina’s nippletini

If your a fan of raspberry drinks, why wouldn’t you love this?

Great drinks don't have to be fussy

All you’ll need is;

A bottle of Raspberry flavoured alcoholic ice tea

A bottle of Raspberry Sparkletini

A glass or two

Ice

A couple of raspberries to garnish

Who am I to tell you what proportions to mix your drink to? This is how we did it. Ice in the glass, 2 or 3 cubes, fill 35% full of sweet tea and top up  the remaining 65% with the sparkletini. Drop a couple of raspberries in on top.

With all the raspberry in this, does it count as 1 of my 5 a day?

Pink limoncello fizz

On a hot summers day, this is a great thirst quencher, so refreshing and light.

The thirst quenching trio

Cobra Commander and I brought this limoncello back from our honeymoon in Venice, it’s about time we opened it. I used cheap champagne here, you could use prosecco in it’s place for a little extra sweetness,

There's a lemon in my ice cube

and then the cocktail will use only  Italian drinks.

I like to add one ice cube, just to keep it chilled, I bought these trays that you

can make ice cubes around slices of lemon and lime a while ago, and they’re my favourite.

I measure the limoncello in fingers,

Three fingers of tongue tingling tart limoncello

It’s not that much really, they were made in a champagne flute.

Pop the pips

The sound of heaven

Fill to half full

You can alter the sweetness of this cocktail by adding more or less of the Raspberrytini.

I filled the glass with equal parts of the two mixers.

Look at those bubbles, and the pretty pink hue