SUMMER FRUIT PAV
Save the heavy pudding for winter. It’s summer time so bring on the pav—always in fashion, always delicious—here made using the best of the summer fruit. If you can’t find good, fragrant, fully ripe nectarines, you can use peaches, or simply load it up with a mix of berries. And if it’s not Christmas, make it just because.
INGREDIENTS
- 6 eggs, separated
- 360 g caster (superfine) sugar
- 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons cornflour (cornstarch)
- A few drops of natural vanilla essence
- 375g mascarpone
- 200ml pure cream (35% fat), lightly whipped
- 2-3 drops rosewater (optional)
- 3 tablespoons icing (confectioners’) sugar
- 1 vanilla bean
- 300g raspberries
- 100g blackcurrants
- 50g sugar
- 250 ml lemon curd
- 2 peaches
- 100 g blueberries or silvanberries, or both
METHOD
- Preheat the oven to 160°C . Beat the eggwhites until soft peaks form, then whisk in the sugar, then the vinegar, cornflour and vanilla essence. The mixture should be stiff by now. Tip onto a baking tray lined with baking paper and use a spatula to form a steep-sided round, 6 cm (2½ inch) high and 25 cm (10 inches) diameter.
- Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven to 140°C and bake for about 90 minutes, checking that it doesn’t brown too much—if at all—and turning down the oven further as need be. Allow to cool in the turned-off oven (some modern ovens may need to be wedged open so the meringue doesn’t sweat).
- Combine the mascarpone, cream, rosewater (if using), icing sugar and seeds scraped from the vanilla bean. Stir well, taking care not to overwhip or the mixture will split. Heat half the raspberries over gentle heat to break them down to a sauce. Allow to cool and stir, in one or two quick motions, into the mascarpone mixture so it’s kind of rippled.
- Heat the blackcurrants with the sugar and water in a small saucepan over high heat to melt and soften. When fruit is soft, press through a sieve and discard solids.
- Spread lemon curd over the top of the pav, cover with the mascarpone mixture, then garnish with sliced peaches, the remaining raspberries and the blueberries and silvanberries if you have them. Drizzle on the blackcurrant syrup to serve.
