Mini Pavlovas with Blackberry Sauce

“Too much of a good thing is wonderful” …. hmmm… like dessert!

Yay for easy summer desserts! And these are naturally gluten free! These desserts are great because you can make most of it a day ahead – so they are perfect for your summer soirées – when you have too much to prepare and not enough time.

Mini Pavlovas

4 egg whites

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 225F.

For the next part you can use a double boiler or a large metal bowl over a saucepan of just boiling water. In the bowl, add the egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar and whisk until the sugar dissolves.

Next transfer this to your stand mixer and beat with whisk attachment until frothy. Add vanilla. Beat to stiff peaks. Use a large round tip to pipe out a tiny bit of the meringue under each corner of the parchment paper to keep it form moving while you pipe the pavlovas. Pipe out the meringue in 6 circles on each baking sheet, leaving space in between them. It’s ok if your circles aren’t perfectly neat. Alternatively, if you like the more rustic look (as I did in this case), use large spoons to dollop out semi-round pavlovas. Use the back of one spoon to create a nest at the top of each pavlova – where you will place your filling.

Bake for about 1 hour – or until pavlovas are dry to your touch. (Do not open the oven until the hour is up).Once they are done, turn off the oven and leave the oven door slightly open for at least 2 hours, up to overnight.

Whipped cream topping

 1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 tbsp. sugar (optional)

1 tsp vanilla extract

Beat heavy cream in your stand mixer with whisk attachment until soft peaks form. Add vanilla. You can also add sugar if you prefer a sweeter cream. Beat until stiff peaks form.

Blackberry sauce

2 boxes of fresh blackberries

1/2 cup sugar

1/8 cup water

Place all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Lower to simmer and allow to cook for another 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat and strain the sauce. Let cool. Save some of the whole cooked blackberries to add to your pavlovas as well.

Assembly

Pavlovas

whipped cream

blackberry sauce

fresh berries

mint leaves (optional)

Chopped pistachios (optional)

Lemon zest (optional)

Remove Pavlovas from parchment paper and place on plates you would like to serve them on. Fill nests with dollops of the whipped cream. Add some of the cooked blackberries and fresh berries on top of the cream, as well as pistachios. Pour on the blackberry sauce. Top with mint leaves and lemon zest. Ready to serve!