A crisp meringue shell filled with whipped cream and topped with pears poached in raspberry syrup.
Ingredients
MERINGUE BASE
150mL or 4 organic egg whites
1 cup/220g organic superfine/caster sugar
2 tablespoons corn starch (corn flour) sifted
2 teaspoons organic white vinegar
POACHED PEAR TOPPING
⅚ pears, preferably Bosc, peeled, cored and halved
10-12 oz/285g bag frozen raspberries
4 cups/945mL water, may need more
½ cup sugar, more if you want it sweeter
1" piece of fresh ginger
2 cups/470mL heavy cream, whipped until soft peaks form.
Instructions
MERINGUE BASE
Preheat the oven to 300℉/150℃
Line a baking tray with parchment paper and draw a 8"/20cm circle on the underside.
Set aside.
Whip the egg whites until they form stiff peaks.
Add the sugar and beat until glossy and thick.
Add the cornstarch and the vinegar and blend until just incorporated.
Dollop the egg whites onto the parchment paper using the drawn circle as a guide.
Make an indent in the middle to hold the filling.
Turn down the oven to 250℉/120℃
Place in the centre of the oven and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Turn off the oven and allow the shell to cool completely in the oven.
POACHED PEARS
While the shell is baking, make the poached pears.
Place the pears in a single layer in a large pan.
Add the frozen raspberries, ginger, water and sugar.
Mash the raspberries with the back of a spoon.
Allow to simmer uncovered until the pears are tender and the water has reduced to a syrupy consistency, about 30-40 minutes.
You may need to add more water if the pears have not softened.
Make sure the raspberries don't stick to the bottom of the pan.
Stir occasionally and turn the pears to get even colour.
Once the pears are tender, remove them from the syrup.
Strain the liquid to remove the seeds, ginger and pulp from the berries.
Add the syrup back into the pan and reduce more if desired and then add the pears back into the sauce to keep from drying out.
Once the shell is cool, and right before serving, fill the shell with the whipped cream.
Remove the pears from the syrup draining the syrup, and arrange on top carefully.
The shell will probably give and crack in areas but it should hold.
Serve immediately with extra syrup on the side.
Notes
The best pears to use are the Bosc. I had to use Bartlett because I could not find any organic Bosc. To stop the Bartletts from falling apart, I took them out before they were completely tender. The Pavlova was still delicious but the pears were harder to cut. You can add more sugar if you want your syrup sweeter and you may need to top of with water if the simmering liquid evaporates before the pears are tender.