Lemon Blueberry Pavlova

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Description

My favorite way to enjoy lemon meringue is with pavlova. The meringue base cools and dries out slowly, creating a crispy, crunchy crust on the outside which contrasts beautifully with a soft, sticky center. Topped with an intense lemon curd filling, fresh blueberries, and a homemade blueberry sauce, this dessert takes a little bit of time to make but is also simple and easy to pull off!

Ingredients

  • ½ cup unsalted butter
  • 4 large eggs
  • 2 tablespoons lemon zest
  • 1 pinch salt
  • ½ cup white sugar
  • ¼ cup lemon juice
  • cooking spray
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1 pinch cream of tartar
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup blueberries
  • 2 tablespoons white sugar
  • ½ cup cold water
  • ½ cup fresh blueberries, or more to taste
  • 1 sprig fresh mint

Instructions

  1. Prepare lemon curd filling: Cut butter into small pieces and set aside.
  2. Separate eggs
  3. placing yolks in a heat-proof bowl and whites in glass
  4. metal
  5. or ceramic bowl. Cover egg whites and leave on the counter to come to room temperature for the meringue.
  6. Add lemon zest
  7. salt
  8. sugar
  9. and lemon juice to egg yolks. Whisk until thoroughly combined.
  10. Add 1 to 2 inches water to a saucepan over low heat; bring to a simmer. Place bowl of filling over the simmering water. Cook
  11. stirring constantly with a spatula
  12. until mixture is very hot to the touch and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon
  13. 10 to 15 minutes.
  14. Stir in butter
  15. 3 or 4 pieces at a time
  16. waiting until butter has melted before each addition. Remove from the heat and pour filling into a bowl to cool
  17. about 15 minutes. Lay plastic wrap on top of the filling
  18. pressing down so it doesn’t develop a skin
  19. and place in the refrigerator until well chilled
  20. 2 to 3 hours.
  21. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with a silicone liner
  22. such as Silpat®. Lightly spray with cooking spray.
  23. Begin meringue: Mix cornstarch into sugar and set aside.
  24. Add cream of tartar
  25. lemon juice
  26. and vanilla to the reserved egg whites. Whisk with a large whisk until very soft peaks form
  27. about 3 minutes. Whisk in sugar mixture
  28. 2 tablespoons at a time
  29. whisking about 1 minute between each addition
  30. until incorporated. When all sugar mixture has been added
  31. continue to whisk until relatively stiff peaks form and whites are firm enough to hold their shape.
  32. Use 2 spoons or a piping bag to transfer whites onto the prepared baking sheet
  33. forming a ring of dollops about 8 or 9 inches across. Fill in the middle with meringue
  34. then go back around the edges adding more meringue to build up the outside edge.
  35. Bake in the center of the preheated oven for exactly 1 hour. At 1 hour
  36. turn off the oven and crack the door. Let meringue sit in the oven until its cooled completely
  37. about 1 hour.
  38. Meanwhile
  39. prepare blueberry sauce: combine 1 cup blueberries
  40. sugar
  41. and water in a saucepan over medium heat; bring to a simmer. Cook
  42. stirring occasionally
  43. until blueberries collapse and liquid thickens
  44. about 10 minutes.
  45. Remove from the heat and pass through a fine mesh strainer. Place in the refrigerator until fully chilled
  46. about 45 minutes.
  47. Very carefully transfer cooled meringue to a serving platter using 2 large spatulas if necessary; you may get some cracks but that’s okay. Use a spoon to crack the center a bit to make room for the filling.
  48. Fill the center with chilled lemon curd filling. Place remaining blueberries over top and drizzle with blueberry sauce. Garnish with mint.

Prep Time: 25 mins

Cook Time: 1 hr 20 mins

Total Time: 5 hrs

Servings: 6

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