The Quintessential Aussie Dessert

Recipe From: The Hungry Australian

Layered Pavlova with Pomegranate and Flowers

I know there has been a glut of desserts on The Hungry Australian lately but I just had to bake a cake to celebrate this award. After considering several ideas, I decided to do a version of Pavlova, my favourite Australian dessert. I've previously blogged a Raspberry and Pomegranate Layered Pavlova recipe and this is the same recipe with some minor adjustments. It was a bit of work to prep the flowers but a special occasion calls for a special cake.

INGREDIENTS

• 10 egg whites
• Large pinch salt
• 2.5 cups sugar
• 5 teaspoons corn flour
• 2.5 teaspoons white or red wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla bean extract
• 725 mls thickened cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean extract
• 2 large pomegranates, seeds only
• Assorted flowers to decorate

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
2. Line three baking trays with baking paper and draw a 20cm circle on each.
3. Wipe mixing bowl with vinegar and then beat egg whites with salt until soft peaks form.
4. Add sugar in five batches (1/2 cup at a team), beating thoroughly between each addition until meringue is thick and shiny. Try holding the bowl upside down - if the meringue doesn't move, it's thick enough!
5. Add cornflour, vinegar and vanilla extract and gently fold in.
6. Divide mixture equally between three baking trays and spread gently to fill in the circle shape (an offset spatula is great for this). Smooth the top and the sides.
7. Place the trays in the oven and immediately reduce heat to 120 degrees Celsius. Bake pavlovas for 90 minutes and then turn off heat, leaving them to cool in the oven.
8. When ready to assemble, whip cream with 1 teaspoon vanilla bean extract.
9. Take one pavlova and spread with a third of the cream, leaving a 2 cm gap around the edge. Decorate with 1/3 of the pomegranate seeds and then repeat with a second layer.
10. Place the final pavlova on top  and cover with cream.
11. Decorate the top layer with fresh flowers as prepared below and half of the remaining pomegranate seeds.

NOTES

• I suggest you read my previous Raspberry and Pomegranate Layered Pavlova recipe before you begin this one for some extra assembly tips.
• Fresh flowers are not food safe unless they have been organically grown and are free of pesticides. And some flowers are poisonous and/or dangerous for human consumption even if they have been grown organically. So unless you are certain of the flower type and its source it's best to prepare all flowers with a barrier between the flowers and the cake.
• Gently wash and leave flowers to air dry. Work out where you want to place the flowers and then cut stems accordingly.
• If inserting the flowers into the cake, wrap the stem completely in florist tape (available from florists, naturally) before inserting the wrapped stem into the cake.
• For flowers that will be placed onto the cake, place small  and unobtrusive discs of cling wrap on top of the cake before you carefully place the flowers on top.
• To insert flower stems into pavlova, use a sharp knife to pierce the cling wrap to make a hole and then insert the flower through.
• To serve, remove the flowers and cling wrap and then scatter the top of the pavlova with the remaining pomegranate seeds.

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I have just stumbled upon this amazing blog site, of which just won the Best Australian Blog Site 2014. I think it’s going to become a favourite.

Check out The Hungry Australian Blog Site:

Enjoy Life....

Can I Please Have More.....

We had a dinner party with family over the weekend and I must say my sweet boy and I really stepped up to the plate and delivered a killer meal.. We go to an amazing certificated organic butcher and we picked up beef cheeks not knowing we would be having the family over. What a great decision that was.

So – with no recipe, I went searching online for a show stopping recipe and found just the one.

Slowly Braised Beef Cheeks in Pedro Ximenez

Recipe from Movida

Book: MoVida Rustica: Spanish Traditions & Recipes

Another revelation was that we had all the ingredients in our pantry much to our surprise. This was an amazing start – not having to go out and spend money, we were ready to go..

Sweet boy was going to do mains and I was going to do dessert with Little Miss. I then decided that we needed a side of greens and I had this great recipe for beans that is always a hit, so I got onto that. Recipe from Pinterest: Green Beans Gremolata

Voila  

 Dinner is Served

We had a potato puree rather than the cauliflower as I can’t have cream nor milk… 

Let’s get to the sweet stuff. Before I start, I need to set the scene, we had dancing, tasting and tears. It was a jammed packed dessert making experience.

Oh My Lordy Chocolate Dessert

Creator: Yours truly 

Ok Ok – it’s a cheat’s dessert. Anyone that knows me, knows I am all about home designed more than homemade.. Presentation is everything people.. I will say this though, it required a mixer, piping bags, smashing of Oreo biscuits and careful placement of fresh Raspberries.

As I said before, dessert making didn’t come without some tears, why, you ask? Well – butter isn’t it’s own food group.        

 Ok – we got back on track and headed for the finishing line with some laughter.

Super easy to make, grab yourself you favourite chocolate cake mix, I like Betty Crocker chocolate fudge cake mix (divide mixture into 6 ramekin dishes) and bake according to instructions, grab some pre-made chocolate mousse, I like nestle chocolate mousse, Oreo biscuits, ice-cream and fresh Raspberries. 

Now – construct to your liking, that’s it, you have a really impressive dessert that looks as though you have slaved in the kitchen to create. It really is a crowd pleaser… 

Enjoy Life….

Chocolate Crush

Whenever we decide to head into the heart of Sydney to spend the day living the city life, my first thought always goes to visiting the beautiful Strand Arcade, it’s a visually beautiful building both inside and out. But that’s not why I want to go there, it’s for my taste buds – you see we have an iconic Australian family owned chocolate retailer here in OZ that’s simply the best in the Southern Hemisphere. Haigh’s Chocolates!!

 

I’m a simple pleasures type of gal but it’s Haigh's Milk Marshmallow Kokettes that has me buckling at the knees. These babies are simply divine to your taste buds. Simply put, they are vanilla and raspberry marshmallow coated in milk chocolate. That’s it – I’m in!!!!!

Here’s a great chocolate recipe from the Haigh’s website – give it a go and let me know what you think?? 

 Chocolate Peppermint & Coconut Slice

Image: Randy Larcombe, Recipe by: Chris Smith

Ingredients

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·         4 x 60g individual Haigh’s Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies

·         75g unsalted butter, melted

·         375g desiccated coconut

·         190g caster sugar

·         190g unsalted butter, melted

·         4 large eggs

·         50g fresh mint, chopped

·         2 x 100g Haigh’s Milk Peppermint Chocolate Tablets

Directions

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1.    Preheat oven to 170ºC.

2.    Break up the cookies, place into a food processor and process to a fine crumb. Blend with the melted butter and press into a 20cm x 20cm cake tin lined with baking paper.

3.    Mix together the coconut and sugar in a large bowl. Add the butter then the eggs and lastly the mint and mix until combined. Pour the mix on top of the biscuit base and bake for 15-20 minutes until slightly golden and textured. Allow to cool. Break peppermint chocolate into pieces and melt gently in either a microwave or a bowl over simmering water.

4.    Cover the top of the slice with a layer of the melted Haigh’s Milk Peppermint Chocolate. Using a fork, make a swirl pattern in the chocolate and using a knife mark out the lines where the slice will be cut. Put in the refrigerator to set and then cut along the knife lines.

Enjoy Life…

Link to Recipe @ Haigh's Chocolate

Photo's by: Haigh's Chocolate