Brown sugar pavlova with fruit
Delight guests at your next summer gathering with this brown sugar pavlova topped with passion fruit, strawberries, raspberries and pineapple
Method
Heat the oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2 and line two large baking trays with baking parchment. Using a 900g loaf tin as a template, trace two rectangles onto the parchment. Turn it over. Sift both the sugars into a large bowl (use a spoon to push it through). Whip the egg whites on low speed in a stand mixer or with an electric whisk until small bubbles form. Turn the speed up to medium and whisk to stiff peaks. Add the sugar mix, 1 tbsp at a time, whisking between each addition until all the sugar has been added. Drop in the vanilla. Whisk for 3-4 mins more until the meringue is smooth (not grainy) – test it between your fingertips.
Spoon the meringue into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle, and pipe it over the parchment using the templates so you have two meringue rectangles. Use a skewer to create more swirls, if you like. Bake for 50 mins-1 hr until crisp, then turn off the oven. Leave to cool inside.
To decorate, whisk the cream, icing sugar and vanilla extract to soft peaks using an electric whisk. Place one meringue on a serving board, then pipe or spoon over half the cream. Layer over half the fruit, top with the second meringue, then the rest of the cream and the remaining fruit. Best eaten on the day it’s made, but will keep chilled for up to two days.