Simple, yet delicious cake, that delighted famous dancer Pavlova, even nowadays continues to surprise the sweet tooth public. Through years of its history the cake met thousands of variations beginning with strawberry and cream classics and finishing with… Never finishing actually. And it’s of a great success in every single one. Maybe it’s the light and airy meringue or otherwise it has to be the light and airy cream it owes its popularity to.
Today I offer a very Christmas recipe. And a very British as well. We’ve got whiskey and cranberries inside.
I make Swiss meringue as it is the simplest and most fail safe method.
Swiss meringue:
180 g egg whites (from about 5 eggs)
360 g sugar
Weigh the whites and add exactly twice as much sugar. Before you start, prepare 2 bowls. Rub the bowls with a slice of lemon and dry it with a piece of tissue. So that no traces of fat or water remain.
Place the whites into a clean bowl, add sugar and mix a little. Pour some water into a pan and heat to boil. When the water starts boiling, lower the heat to minimum and place the bowl on top of the pan to make a double boiler. Heat the mixture to 65-70°C whisking constantly on a low speed. The sugar has to dissolve completely.
Pour the mixture into another prepared bowl, clean and cold. Whisk with a mixer on a high speed for 7-10 minutes until smooth, glossy and thick.
Transfer the meringue into a piping bag with closed star nozzle. Line the baking tray with silicon sheet. Make a template for your wreath – cut out a 20 cm paper circle or use a base of a cake tin. Place it under the lining. Pipe 10-12 meringue nests around your template leaving no space between them to form a wreath. Pipe a small star into weaker places between the nests to thicken the base.
It should be enough meringue for two wreaths.
Bake in the oven at 70°C for 4-5 hours on fan mode. Upper and lower heating mode also will do. After 5 hours turn off the oven. Leave to cool completely without opening it (3-4 hours or overnight).
Whiskey infused cream :
200 g heavy cream (70%)
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp Whiskey
Heat the cream and sugar until the bubbles appear on the trim. Remove from heat, add whiskey. Let cool to room temperature, then place into a fridge and leave overnight. Whisk the cream for 20 sec on high speed. Put the cream into a piping bag and pipe a bit into each nest to fill it.
Cranberry sauce:
2 cups fresh cranberries
0,5 cup water(1)
0,5 cup sugar
2 tbsp cornflour
2 tbsp water(2)Heat cranberries, water (1) and sugar in a pan over medium heat. Simmer for 3-5 minutes until cranberries soften and start to burst. In a cup mix water(2) and cornflour. Add mixture to the berries. Remove from the heat, let cool completely. When cooled put 2 tsp of sauce onto each nest.
3 tangerines
Cut tangerines into discs, place 1 disc on each nest.
Enjoy your Christmas wreath!
