Pavlova with Chantilly cream, mango puree and white chocolate shards

Ingredients:

120g Caster sugar 

2 Medium eggs 

100ml Double cream 

50g Icing sugar 

½ tsp Vanilla extract 

100g White chocolate  

1 Mango 

2 Strawberries

Method: 

Meringues 

First separate the two eggs. Add the egg whites to a bowl and whisk until they form soft peaks. After this gradually add the sugar at regular intervals until it regains glossy white peaks. Pre-heat the oven to 110°c. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and pipe small rounds of meringue approximately a 1 ½ inch diameter. Repeat this process until the baking tray is full, making sure to leave a gap between each one. Place into the oven for 35-40 minutes ensuring that they don’t brown. Remove from the oven and set aside 

Chantilly Cream  

Using a whisk, whip up the double cream and the icing sugar until it resembles light fluffy peaks, once this has been achieved add the vanilla extract and whisk again. Place into a medium sized piping bag with a ruffled nozzle, refrigerate until needed                  

Mango Puree 

Peel the mango and roughly chop it, add the mango chunks into a blender and blend until it has a smooth texture. Put the mango puree into a sieve to remove any of the residual water, following this spoon the puree into a squeeze bottle and place into the fridge. 

White Chocolate Shards  

Fill half of a medium pan with boiling water and place over a medium heat. Break up the chocolate into individual chunks and add to a glass bowl, place the glass bowl on top of the pan of boiling water. Stir the chocolate regularly so that it doesn’t burn, once fully melted pour the chocolate onto a covered baking tray making sure that the chocolate evenly covers the tray. Place into the fridge to set, after the chocolate has set cut into small triangles and re position back in the fridge to reset. 

Garnish 

On the plate pipe a line of cream, on top of this line up seven meringue discs with a small amount of cream between each one. Pipe the mango puree, that you made earlier, on to the outside of the meringues, slice the strawberries into thin slithers and insert between the meringues. Add the white chocolate shards onto the top of the meringues (use a little bit of cream to keep the shards In place if needed). Adjacent to the meringues pipe a Chantilly cream ribbon across the plate adding some of the mango puree to the corners. Finally roughly chop any leftover meringues and sprinkle them over the plate.   

For any uk residents you can find this recipe in Lancashire and North west magazine this month, it is available in leading supermarkets and newsagents in and around lancashire. http://www.lancmag.com/