Pomegranate & Clementine Pavlova

Source: Booths Christmas magazine

Tags:  dessert

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Serves 4

Prep: 20 mins

Cook: 2 hours

Oven: 110°C / 90°C fan

Ingredients

For the clementine syrup

  • 10 clementines
  • 100g sugar
  • 100ml spiced rum
  • 1 tsp coriander seeds

For the meringue

  • 45g bag of unsalted pistachios
  • 200g egg whites (from approx. 6 large eggs)
  • 250g sugar

To garnish

  • 550ml whipping cream
  • 65g sugar
  • 120g pomegranate seeds

Method

For the clementine syrup

  1. Zest, peel, and segment nine clementines. Squeeze the juice out of the last clementine and save for step 2. Bring 100g sugar to a light caramel, add the rum and cook off the alcohol.
  2. Add the juice and zest from the clementines, and the coriander seeds, then reduce down to a thick syrup. Place the clementine segments in a sterilised Kilner jar (or similar) and pour over the warm syrup. Once cooled place in the fridge. This can be done a day or two in advance.

For the meringue

  1. Use a food processor or hand chop all of the pistachios, they don't need to be all the same size. Separate out 50g for the meringue and keep the rest for garnishing.
  2. On three sheets of baking paper trace around a cake tin (we used an 8 inch tin). Line three baking trays with the paper so that the trace is on the underside of the paper. Whisk the egg whites slowly for two minutes then at high speed, until they start to form soft peaks. Add the sugar slowly, a tablespoon at a time. Continue to whisk until the whites feel smooth when rubbed between fingers. Gently fold in the pistachios.
  3. Use a little of the meringue to stick the paper to the trays. Spread the meringue evenly over the three trays using the trace as a guide. Make two of them fairly flat on top, but with the third make some peaks and interesting shapes, as this will be the lid.
  4. Bake at 110°C / 90°C fan for 2 hours or until the meringue starts to set and is easy to lift off the paper. Once cooked, turn off the heat and allow to cool in the oven with the door closed; this helps prevent the meringue from cracking.

To build the final pavlova

  1. Remove the clementine segments from the syrup before using and place to one side.
  2. Whip the cream with the sugar and clementine syrup until it forms stiff peaks.
  3. Build up the pavlova in layers, adding the cream, pomegranate seeds, clementine segments and pistachios between each layer, and garnish the top.