Pavlova--YUM!!!

soooo good!

That is all I need to say. So delicious, light creamy, bits of crunchy from the meringue with the bright and sweet tastes of the fresh berries. What can be better.

Been wanting to test this recipe. I was thinking that I would maybe make mini ones for the restaurant. I needed to see if it would hold up, how long it would keep and if anyone would like it. I needed an audience to test beside me and WG. 

Then my audience arrived this month. Friends taking their daughter back to college, staying at the house as their home base. And foodies on top of it, perfect!

The pavlova was the finishing course of 4 course meal:

• STARTER: grilled tomato salsa and prosecco
• SALAD: panzanella salad and champagne
• MAIN: grilled rack of goat and shrimp and red wine
• DESSERT: pavlova with lilikoi mousse, sweeten whipped cream, blackberries and raspberries

Will post more about this meal but this post it's all about the sweets and I wanted to share this recipe. Great presentation and so delicious. You will make your guests very impressed and happy.

Used the Ina Garten's Mixed Berry Pavlova recipe. I didn't think the oven was hot enough and baking time seemed too short because I didn't think the meringue wasn't crisp enough. With further research, I've found some other recipes that I may try this again. One from Smittenkitchen.com, that took me to this one from SimpleRecipes.com.

Here's some pictures of my pavlova. The meringue cake can be made ahead. It takes the longest time. But what I did was make it in the morning and let it sit until my guest arrive and put it together right before serving. 

the meringue cake

I had 2 layers on top of the meringue cake. The center layer was lilikoi mousse that I made up with some leftover lilikoi syrup for another recipe [fail] and blackberries and raspberry. Top layer was whipped cream with the rest of the berries.

I whipped up a cup of cold heavy cream with 1/4 of sugar, till I got stiff peaks. Watch out you don't make butter. Then I put half of it in another bowl and added the lilikoi syrup. The lilikoi syrup I have was from a failed attempt from this recipe http://userealbutter.com/2015/01/28/blood-orange-pate-de-fruit-recipe/. I was trying to make an orange passionfruit version on my first try and it didn't set which left me syrup. If I made the syrup from scratch, I would make up as simple syrup and add the juice and reduce to it became syrup-y. You don't need that much to flavor the whipped cream. I probably added about 1/4 to 1/3 cup. It's mostly to taste.

My friend and her daughter assembled the pavlova. They lovingly distributing the berries on each layer. But if you are lazy like me, you can plop the lilikoi mousse on the meringue cake. The berries on top of mousse, the whipped cream on top of the berries and drizzle he  lilikoi syrup on top of all of it.

all put together

with the drizzle of lilikoi syrup

The five of us tried our best to eat all of it but we couldn't. The leftovers [for me and WG, twist our arms] was eaten the next day, not as good texture-wise, a smig soggy but taste-wise still delicious. Try it! You and your guest will not be disappointed.

Birthdays

It's always around this time of year when I start thinking cake but more specifically, birthday cake, MY BIRTHDAY CAKE. Yes, this baker bakes herself a birthday cake. I had big dreams of testing out cakes and fillings to find my favorite combination to create "the birthday cake". But as life moves on, taxes and baking items that others love, took up most of my recipe testing time.

Can't say I didn't test any recipe. I did test the mousse recipe when J was in town for a visit so at least I know I can fiddle with that as filling. And remember last year's cake: lemony white cake recipe from Dorie Greenspan with lemon swiss buttercream and a crown of fresh berries. Here's the link to that post. So I have a couple of ideas.

My love of lilikoi won out this year and I decided to make Earl Grey Tea Cake with lilikoi mousse and cream cheese frosting. 

We end up eating cake at 9:30 in the morning

I slightly adapted the Milk Tea Cupcake recipe from JustJennRecipe. Here's what I adjusted: used 4 tea bags of Stash Double Bergamont Earl Grey Tea, 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla and baked the cake in a two 8" square pans for 30 minutes.

Here's a couple of shots of the great start.

steeping the tea in milk

creaming the butter and sugar to a very light yellow

bake to golden brown

Then drama begins. I think the trouble started with starting the cake too late and not having enough time to cool and chill everything component of this cake before assembly. 

As the cake cooled, I started on the filling lilikoi mousse using the same recipe I tested the raspberry mousse. Here's the link to that post. I was ambitious enough last weekend to make the lilikoi curd. I forgot to take a picture of the mousse on it's own. Here's a picture of the leftover mousse for me and WG.

a beautiful light yellow color

I thought the cake cooled off enough that I decided to take them out of the pans [apparently not]. I buttered and floured the pan but didn't a put a sheet of wax paper on the bottom. I should have known better. The bottom stuck to the pans and needed to puzzle piece them back. I wanted to slice each layer in half but I wasn't sure they would be stable enough as thinner layers. [This where I stopped taking pictures of the steps because I was getting annoyed.] 

To make a long story of my birthday cake disaster short, here quick recap [well as short as I could make it]: 

• top layer cracked
• added mousse layer, use it as glue for the crack
• chill to set mousse
• frosted cake
• realized that the cake was too big for cake box
• trimmed frosted cake
• layers begin to slide
• about to toss the cake on the floor
• lots of slamming and cursing
• shoved bamboo skewers in the cake to hold it in place
• shoved the *%$#^% cake in the refrigerator
• I'm done for tonight
• wake up 15 minutes earlier [I already wake up way too early] to get cake ready for travel
• pull skewers out, last minute touch up to cake
• add "Happy April" in lilikoi curd to top
• realize cake too tall for box
• find a container to bring the cake in
• add plastic wrap to the top
• say good by to "Happy April"

Here's rest of pictures I got. Not sure how this cake survived not being thrown in the garbage. But it did and it survived the hour commute on NJ transit and arrived in one piece. That's all I could ask. It tasted great and may make batch for the restaurant. I just have to remember everything is better with some time to chill including the crazy baker.

before the trim and sliding layer disaster

when realize it still was too big for the box