The grandeur and leisurely pace of train travel is reflected in Albury’s beautiful railway station so, as a nod to times past, I cooked up my own high tea with a twist. These meringues are a modern take on an Australian classic – the pavlova with cream and passionfruit. Made as miniatures, they are ideal for afternoon tea or to finish a cocktail party.
Makes 50
Preparation 15 minutes
Cooking 50 minutes
INGREDIENTS
3 eggs, separated
80 g (1/3 cup) caster (superfine) sugar
80 g (1/3 cup) brown sugar
1 tablespoon cornflour (cornstarch)
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
lightly whipped cream to serve
Passionfruit curd
60 g (1/4 cup) passionfruit pulp
40 g butter
55 g (1/4 cup) caster (superfine) sugar
3 egg yolks (left over from the meringue mixture)
METHOD
1 Preheat the oven to 160°C and line two baking trays with baking paper.
2 Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Add the caster sugar then the brown sugar, gradually, and continue to beat until the mixture is glossy and the sugar has dissolved. Add the cornflour and vanilla and mix until just combined.
3 Spoon or pipe the meringue onto the prepared trays. With the back of a wet teaspoon, carefully make an indent in each meringue to hold the cream and curd. Bake for 50 minutes or until dry. Place the tray on a wire rack and leave to cool. Carefully peel the meringues off the baking paper.
4 While the meringues are baking, make the passionfruit curd. Strain the passionfruit pulp but return a few seeds to it and put it with the remaining ingredients in a heatproof bowl over simmering water. Whisk for 10 minutes or until thickened. Set aside to cool completely, stirring occasionally to prevent a skin from forming.
5 To serve, top the meringues with a spoon of cream and a dollop of the passionfruit curd.
Lyndey’s note: To test to see if the sugar has dissolved in the meringue, rub a small amount of mixture between your fingers; if gritty, keep beating until it feels smooth.
Wine: If not a perfectly brewed cup of tea or coffee, then a dessert wine like a botrytised semillon will match the sweet lemony flavours.
The Carousel thanks Lyndey Milan‘s Taste of Australia for this recipe.
Taste of Australia is on Sundays 6.30pm, encore sessions are on Saturdays 9.30am. The episodes will also be airing two hours after their initial session time on Lifestyle +2.
