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Nothing says ‘Aussie Christmas’ more than a pavlova. This beauty is decadently paired with a rich raspberry sauce and an abundance of fresh berries – perfect for a Christmas feast on a hot summer’s day.
6extra-large egg whites, (from 60 g eggs) at room temperature
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups(330 g) caster sugar
1 Tbspcornflour
1 tspwhite vinegar
1 tspvanilla extract
1 1/2 punnets(125g) Driscoll's raspberries
1/4 cup(55g) sugar
2 Tbspbrandy (substitute orange juice, if desired)
300 mlthickened cream
1/2 tspground cinnamon
1/4 tspmixed spice
250 gDriscoll's strawberries, hulled and halved
125 gDriscoll's blueberries
60 g(1/2 punnet) Driscoll's raspberries
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 150 °C. Lightly grease a large baking tray.
Cookie sheet
Grease a large cookie sheet. Draw a 23 cm disc on a piece of baking. Draw a smaller roughly 13 cm circle in the centre to create a ring. Place the baking paper, marked side down on the prepared tray.
Meringue
Whisk the egg whites and salt together in a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar, one tablespoon at a time, whisking continuously until all the sugar is added. Whisk on high speed for 3–5 minutes, until stiff and glossy and the sugar has completely dissolved. Add the cornflour, vinegar and vanilla and whisk to combine. Using a large spoon, arrange large dollops of meringue, side by side, inside the ring. Create another layer of smaller dollops on top of the ring.
Baking
Place the pavlova in the oven and decrease the temperature to 120 °C. Bake for 1 1/4 – 1 1/2 hours, until crisp on the outside and light golden. Turn the oven off and leave in the oven with the door ajar, for 4 hours, or overnight until cooled completely.
Sauce
To make the raspberry sauce, place all of the ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to the simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes, or until the raspberries are pulpy. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve. Set aside to cool.
Serving
To decorate, whisk the cream, cinnamon and mixed spice together in a medium bowl, until stiff peaks form. Spread the cream over the top of the pavlova ring. Drizzle with half of the raspberry sauce. Decorate with berries and drizzle with the remaining sauce.