Summer Berry Pavlova Recipe

I am a sucker for pavlova, I absolutely love it. I’ve never been a huge fan of cream though and was always likely to remove as much of it as I could. I made a classic pavlova recipe lately and used coconut cream as the topping instead of dairy cream, and I think I prefer it! I served it at a barbeque and a friend brought along a cream pavlova too so those that weren’t dairy free had a choice and it’s no lie both pavlovas disappeared equally as quickly. The coconut flavour isn’t overwhelming but you would notice it a little. So unless you really don’t like coconut, this pavlova recipe is for you if you’re dairy free.  I used the classic pavlova recipe from BBC Good Food. 

You will need: 

For the pavlova:

4 egg whites

240g caster sugar

1 tsp cornflour

1 tsp white wine vinegar

1 tsp vanilla extract

For the filling:

300g strawberries

100g blueberries

{or you can use 400g of any other fruit you choose, kiwis, grapes and summer berries look especially well but use what you have} 

1 tin coconut milk left in fridge overnight

2 dessert spoons caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 150C / 130 Fan / Gas Mark 2. Line a round or oblong baking tray with baking paper. 
2. Separate eggs ensuring no yolk gets into the egg whites. Whisk egg whites with a mixer or hand mixer until they form stiff peaks.
3. Whisk in sugar gradually and mereingue should start to look glossy. Then add cornflour, vinegar and vanilla extract. Whisk again. 
4. Spread the mereingue in the tin making the sides a little higher than the centre. Bake for 1 hour and then turn off oven and allow to cool completely before removing pavlova. 
   
5. Take coconut milk can out of fridge and open carefully. Spoon out all the cream into a bowl. Keep the coconut water aside you can use it for a smoothie or drink as it is.  Add in two dessert spoons of caster sugar and the vanilla extract and whip for about 5 minutes.
6. Spread the cream over the cooled meringue and decorate with the chopped fruit on top.