Valentine's Day Strawberry Pavlova

Valentine's Day Strawberry Pavlova

Ingredients

Strawberry Pavlova:

  • 1/2 cup Foxy Strawberries, hulled and chopped
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, divided
  • 2 tsp cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 5 egg whites, at room temperature
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
  • 4 tsp cornstarch
  • 1/2 tsp pink or red food coloring gel (optional)

Assembly:

  • 1 cup mascarpone cheese
  • 1/3 cup icing sugar, sifted
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup 35% heavy cream
  • 1 1/2 lb Foxy Strawberries, hulled and halved
  • 1/2 cup chocolate syrup

Preparation

Strawberry Pavlova:

  1. Toss together strawberries, 1/2 cup of the sugar, vinegar and vanilla; let stand for 30 minutes or until strawberries release juices and sugar starts to dissolve. Transfer mixture to blender; purée until smooth. Strain through fine-mesh sieve set over bowl, pressing down on fruit to extract all of the liquid (you should have about 1/2 cup strawberry syrup); set aside.
  2. Preheat oven to 300°F. Line large baking sheet with parchment paper. Using pencil, draw eight 4-inch heart shapes on parchment paper. Turn parchment paper over to place pencil side down on baking sheet; set aside.
  3. Using electric mixer, beat egg whites and salt on medium-low speed until foamy; add cream of tartar. Increase speed to high; beat until soft peaks start to form. Gradually beat in remaining sugar, then strawberry mixture, until glossy, stiff peaks form. Sift cornstarch evenly over top; fold cornstarch and food coloring (if using) into meringue mixture.
  4. Spoon meringue mixture onto prepared baking sheet, swirling into heart shapes, using penciled hearts as guide. Using large spoon or spatula, make shallow well in center of each heart.
  5. Bake for 5 minutes. Reduce temperature to 250°F; bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until crisp and dry. Turn off oven. Let stand in oven, with door ajar, for 30 minutes. Remove from oven; let cool completely.

Assembly:

  1. Beat mascarpone until light and fluffy; beat in icing sugar and vanilla until smooth. In separate bowl, whip cream until stiff peaks start to form. Beat whipped cream into mascarpone mixture until blended. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
  2. Just before serving, top pavlova with mascarpone cream and strawberries; drizzle reserved strawberry syrup and chocolate sauce over top (about 1 tbsp per portion). Serve immediately.