Chocolate pavlovas and two surprises on the same TV show

I was never aware of Jon Hamm before Mad Men (and apparently I wasn’t the only one) and despite my pet peeves with the fifth and part of sixth seasons I must be honest: there could not be another Don Draper – he’s just perfect for the part.

Being used to watching a very serious – and sometimes rude – man on the show it was a surprise to see him in a comedy, and days ago I was even more surprised with him pulling off a dark comedy show, and doing it brightly. The amount of shock doubled when I saw on that same show that Harry Potter, I mean, Daniel Radcliffe is absolutely amazing portraying someone completely different from HP – I never imagined he had such great timing for comedy.

Everything about A Young Doctor's Notebook is superb: the supporting cast, the writing, the production. It was some good two hours I spent in front of TV and I now eagerly wait for another season – while that doesn’t happen, let’s keep Mother Russia in mind with this delicious dessert created in honor of Anna Pavlova.

Chocolate pavlovas
adapted from the wonderful Bon Appetit Desserts, inspired by the beautiful Annie Bell's Baking Bible

Meringues:
4 large egg whites (112g)
pinch of salt
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
½ teaspoon white vinegar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted

To assemble:
1 cup (240ml) chilled heavy cream
1 tablespoon icing sugar, sifted
200g fresh raspberries

Meringues: preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Line a large baking sheet with baking paper.
Using electric mixer, beat egg whites and salt in large bowl until frothy. Add cream of tartar. Continue to beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, beating until whites are thick and resemble marshmallow creme, about 5 minutes. Beat in cornstarch, vinegar, vanilla and cocoa. Drop meringue onto prepared sheet in 6 mounds, spaced 5cm (2in) apart. Using back of spoon, make slight depression in center of each.
Place meringues in oven. Immediately reduce temperature to 120°C/250°F. Bake until meringues are dry outside (but centers remain soft) and pale straw color and lift easily from parchment, about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Cool on sheet on rack. (Can be made 8 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)

Before assembling the pavlovas, beat cream and sugar in medium bowl until medium peaks form.
Place meringues on plates. Spoon whipped cream into the center depression. Arrange raspberries top of the cream.

Serves 6

Spiced plum pavlovas + a nice hint

You know well about my love for Donna Hay’s work: I have some of her cookbooks – cannot live without “Modern Classics 2” – and I’ve been a subscriber to her magazine since September 2006. But for the past year I’ve been having trouble receiving the magazines – last year’s winter issue never arrived and the same happened to this year’s summer issue. I do not know if they’ve changed the shipping method or something, because a friend of mine – who lives here in Brazil, too – has had the same problem. I’d been thinking (with a broken heart) of cancelling my subscription until yesterday, when I saw this on Donna’s website – I purchased the summer issue and now I have it on my computer. I printed one page as a test – wonderful. Since some of you love the magazine I thought you should know about its digital version. Hope you enjoy it!

These pavlovas were the dessert of choice for a dinner with friends last week – I made them because I wanted something pretty and fresh. But what really got my attention here was the plums: they were delicious and paired beautifully with a simple cake I’d baked, too. Just perfect.

Spiced plum pavlovas
slightly adapted from the most wonderful dessert book I own

Meringues:
4 large egg whites (112g)
pinch of salt
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
½ teaspoon white vinegar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Plums:
450g plums, halved, pitted, sliced into eights
1/3 cup (67g) granulated sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom

To assemble:
1 cup (240ml) chilled heavy cream
1 tablespoon icing sugar, sifted

Meringues: preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Line a large baking sheet with baking paper.
Using electric mixer, beat egg whites and salt in large bowl until frothy. Add cream of tartar. Continue to beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, beating until whites are thick and resemble marshmallow creme, about 5 minutes. Beat in cornstarch, vinegar and vanilla. Drop meringue onto prepared sheet in 6 mounds, spaced 7cm (3in) apart. Using back of spoon, make depression in center of each.
Place meringues in oven. Immediately reduce temperature to 120°C/250°F. Bake until meringues are dry outside (but centers remain soft) and pale straw color and lift easily from parchment, about 50 minutes. Cool on sheet on rack. (Can be made 8 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)

Plums: combine all ingredients in large frying pan; toss to coat. Cover and cook over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Uncover and cook until plums are tender but still hold shape, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes longer; cool to room temperature. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Transfer to bowl. Cover and chill.)

Before assembling the pavlovas, beat cream and sugar in medium bowl until medium peaks form.
Place meringues on plates. Spoon whipped cream into the center depression. Arrange plum slices on top of the cream and drizzle with the plum juices.

Serves 6

Mini rhubarb pavlovas

I told you once how much I adore “True Blood” – the show got me so addicted that after watching the 3 seasons I started reading Charlaine Harris’ books – in a very incessantly way, I might add. :)

Something similar happened when I watched some of Sophie Dahl’s videos on You Tube: her soft, lovely way around her beautiful kitchen and the delicious food got me hooked – I immediately bought her book.

The original recipe calls for cooking the rhubarb for only 5 minutes but to me it tasted raw and sort of astringent; I added more water and sugar and cooked it longer – the result was a wonderful, jammy compote.

Mini rhubarb pavlovas
slightly adapted from Miss Dahl's Voluptuous Delights

Meringues:
3 large egg whites
¾ cup + 1 ½ tablespoons (168g) caster (superfine) sugar
pinch of salt

Rhubarb compote:
225g rhubarb, chopped in rounds
1/3 cup (80ml) water
3 tablespoons caster (superfine) sugar – or more, to taste
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

To assemble the dessert:
½ cup (120ml) heavy cream, very cold
½ vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped with the back of the knife
1 tablespoon icing sugar
2-3 tablespoons lightly toasted sliced almonds

Start by making the meringues: preheat the oven to 140°C/285°F. Line a large baking sheet with baking paper. In a very clean bowl, with no traces of fat or water, whisk the egg whites in medium-high speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar, whisking well until the mixture is thick and glossy – rub a bit of the mixture between your fingers: you should no longer feel the sugar granules.
Drop 6 large blobs of meringue onto the prepared pan, 5cm (2in) apart. Bake for 1 hour, or until crisp and firm. Leave to cool inside the oven with the door ajar.
Now, the compote: place the rhubarb, water and sugar in a small heavy saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until a jammy consistency, 10-15 minutes. Add the vanilla, remove from heat and cool completely.
Whip the cream, vanilla seeds and sugar until soft peaks form. To assemble: place a meringue on a serving place, top with a generous spoonful of whipped cream and finish with another generous spoonful of rhubarb compote. Sprinkle with the toasted almonds and serve immediately.

Serves 6

Lavender and white chocolate mini pavlovas

Those around here in their 30s - like yours truly - probably remember Rick Astley: a thin, red haired guy that had a really powerful voice. It made me wonder how such a strong voice would come out of such a small person. For my younger audience – who must be thinking “what on earth is she talking about??” - Alex Band would be a similar example. :D

The lavender buds I used in this recipe are just the same: teeny tiny, but full of flavor.

Lavender and white chocolate mini pavlovas
own creation, based on a recipe from Donna Hay magazine

1/3 cup (80ml) egg whites
½ cup (100g) caster sugar
½ teaspoon edible dried lavender
1 tablespoon corn starch, sifted
1 teaspoon white vinegar
¾ cup (180ml) whipping cream
50g white chocolate shavings
lavender buds, to decorate

Preheat the oven to 150ºC/300ºF. Line a large baking sheet with non-stick baking paper (I used regular). Trace six 8cm rounds on one side of it then turn the paper over.
Place the sugar and lavender in a small food processor and process for 15 seconds or until the lavender buds are coarsely ground. Sift the sugar into a bowl and discard the excess lavender.
Place the egg white in the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk until stiff peaks form – the bowl must be completely free of fat and/or water.
Gradually add the sugar, whisking well, until the mixture is stiff and glossy - rub a little of the mixture between your fingertips; when you no longer feel the sugar granules, the mixture is ready.
Add the corn starch, vinegar and whisk until just combined.
Divide the mixture into the traced circles.
Reduce oven to 120ºC/250ºF and bake for 35 minutes – mine baked for 45.
Turn the oven off and allow the pavlovas to cool completely in the oven – I did this overnight and, even though the pavlovas seemed to be too soft when I turned off the oven, there was a thin, hard layer outside them on the following morning.
Whisk the cream until firm peaks form. Place a layer of whipped cream over each meringue and top with chocolate shavings and a few lavender buds – they are kind of bitter so you might want to decorate your pavlovas some other way.

Makes 6