Catherine's Mini Pavlovas with a Passion Fruit Curd.

Ingredients

Makes 8
 
For the pavlovas

  • 4 egg whites 
  • 250g caster sugar
  • 1 tsp white wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp cornflour 

For the passionfruit curd

  • 100g caster sugar
  • 30g butter, diced
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • Pulp of 4 passion fruits
  • 100ml lightly whipped cream
  • 3 kiwi fruits, peeled and diced
  • 16 seedless green seedless grapes, de-stalked            
  •  Pulp of 2 passion fruits
  • 100g raspberries
  • Mint leaves, to decorate

Method

  1. To prepare the pavlovas, preheat the oven to 120°C/fan 100°C/gas 1, whisk the egg whites until glossy, adding the sugar, spoonfuls at a time at maximum speed until thick and glossy.  
  2. Mix the vinegar and cornflour together and fold into the meringue mixture.
  3. Line a baking tray with parchment and spoon the mixture into a piping bag with a nozzle.  Pipe small pavlova shapes (8cm or 3 inches), leaving a slight indent on top for the cream and fruit to sit.
  4. Bake for 50 minutes, switch off the oven and leave overnight to set.
  5. To make a quick curd, place the sugar, butter, eggs and passion-fruit pulp in a heavy-based saucepan and simmer over a moderately low heat, whisking until it is thick enough to hold a trail from the whisk. This will take about 10 minutes. You need to be whisking most of the time.
  6. To assemble, arrange the pavlovas on a cake stand or pretty plate, fold the cream into the curd and spoon some onto each pavlova.  Arrange the kiwi fruits, grapes, raspberries on top.
  7. Spoon over the passion fruit and decorate with mint leaves.