Christmas Berry Wreath Pavlova

A wreath shaped pavlova is a show-stopping and inexpensive festive dessert. Use any fresh fruit that will look pretty and not turn brown. You can use regular whipped cream in place of maple cream or for more indulgence try a mix of cream and mascarpone.
To make this into a real show stopper you could scatter in some little chocolates such as Hersheys kisses or white chocolate drops.

Ingredients

• 6 egg whites – at room temperature -I use size 6 eggs
• 1 ½ cups or 330g caster sugar
• 1 ½ tsp vanilla essence
• 1 tbsp corn flour
• 1 tsp white vinegar or lemon juice
• 1 punnet of blueberries 
• 1-2 punnets strawberries halved
• A handful or two of cherries

Maple cream - optional

• 300ml of cream – whipped to soft peaks
• 1 ½ tbsp icing sugar-optional
• 3 tbsp maple syrup- optional

Method

Preheat the oven to 170°C. Not fan bake. Cover a metal baking sheet with non-stick baking paper and draw a circle roughly the size of a dinner plate on the paper.

In a large, grease free bowl, whip the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Add the caster sugar a little at a time, beating well after each addition until all the sugar is added and completely dissolved and the mixture is glossy.

With a metal spoon fold in the vanilla, corn flour and white vinegar.

Spoon a circle of meringue blobs on the prepared tray. Place another round of slightly smaller blobs on top of the first to give the wreath height. Flatten the top just a little and place the tray into the oven.

Reduce the oven temperature 120°C and bake without opening the oven for 1 1/2 hours, then turn off the heat and leave in the oven till completely cool.

Use a metal spatula to loosen the Pavlova from the paper and slip it onto a serving plate. Spoon whipped cream on the top then scatter on the halved strawberries, the blueberries and cherries.

Tips

Pavlova will keep for a day or two un-filled in an airtight container. Add the toppings just prior to serving so it stays looking fresh.

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