Tropical Crème Brûlée Pavlova

You guys, I'm no chef. I do, however, have some impressive eating skills, which means I can make some pretty yummy food. I made this Tropical Crème Brûlée Pavlova for my friends baby shower, so I thought I'd share the recipe. It's like summer exploded on a plate. You'll love it.

Tropical Crème Brûlée Pavlova

Pavlova~

{adapted from recipe here}

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup sugar*

1 teaspoon Corn Starch

1 teaspoon Vanilla

2 Egg Whites

1 teaspoon White Vinegar

5 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon Boiling Water

*In order to make this a smooth Pavlova, blitz the sugar in the blender for 30 seconds

Before you start, make sure all your equipment and utensils are completely grease free as it will change the texture of the Pavlova. Place all ingredients into a bowl, beat at a high speed for 15 minutes. At first this looks very watery and like it isn't enough to make anything but watch... It quickly thickens, thanks to the corn starch, and turns a bright white.

After it has been beaten for 15 minutes, pipe the meringue onto a cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. If you don't have parchment paper, greased foil works well too!! I used a large Wilton tip and a disposable decorating bag in order to achieve the look below. Pipe in a circular motion and create a nest look by adding an extra layer to the outer edge of the Pavlova.

Place this in a 300 degree oven for 33 - 35 minutes. It won't change shape, or expand. It will look the same going in as it does coming out of the oven. It will harden but is still relatively fragile. Let cool completely on the tray before filling and decorating. Use a light touch when transporting the pavlova from the tray to any other surface.

  

Crème Brûlée~

{adapted from recipe here}

Ingredients

1 quart heavy cream

1 vanilla bean, split and scraped

1/2 cup vanilla sugar, divided

6 large egg yolks

2 quarts hot water

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Place the cream, vanilla bean and its pulp into a medium saucepan set over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, cover and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Remove the vanilla bean and reserve for another use.

In a medium bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup sugar and the egg yolks until well blended and it just starts to lighten in color. Add the cream a little at a time, stirring continually. Pour the liquid into 9X9 glass Pyrex. Place the pan onto a large cake pan or roasting pan. Pour enough hot water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the baking dish. Bake just until the Crème Brûlée is set, but still trembling in the center, approximately 40 to 45 minutes. Remove the dish from the roasting pan and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days.

Mango and Berry Sauce~

Ingredients

1 cup fresh strawberries-stem removed

1/2 cup fresh blackberries

1 whole mango-peeled and sliced

2 tablespoons sugar

First take all berries and 1 tablespoon of sugar and blend in blender for 1-2 minutes. Pour that into a squeeze bottle, then clean out the blender and repeat with mango and 1 tablespoon sugar. Pour the mango into another squeeze bottle and use to decorate plate before plating Pavlova.

How to put it all together~

Decorate plate with fruit sauces and then gently place a Pavlova on the plate and fill with a generous spoonful of Crème Brûlée. Sprinkle the Crème Brûlée with sugar and then lightly torch the whole Pavlova with a kitchen torch. I garnished with mint, raspberries and shaved white chocolate.

BAM! Enjoy :)

Mini Pavlova

Large Pavlova