Strawberry and Balsamic Pavlova

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 4 large egg whites at room temperature
• 1 cup of Castor sugar
• 1 tsp of white vinegar
• 1 Tbs corn flour
• 200g strawberries, hulled and quartered
• 4 heaped Tbs castor snow
• 2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
• 250ml cream
• 2 Tbs icing sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

 Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 140C and place the rack in middle of the oven. Line a baking tray with paper and draw a large circle.
2. In a clean, medium-sized metal bowl, beat the egg whites with a clean electric mixer on medium speed. Beat until the whites form soft peaks.
3. While the beating, slowly sprinkle in the sugar then continue whisking until stiff peaks form – the mixture should be glossy.
4. Sprinkle the corn flour and vinegar on the meringue and fold in gently with a plastic spatula.
5. Now gently spread the meringue in the circle on the paper to fill in the drawn circle - Make sure the edges of the meringue are slightly higher than the center so you have a very slight well in the middle.
6. Bake the meringue for about 1 hour and 15 minutes or until it goes a very pale, pinkish egg shell color, then allow to cool completely.
7. Place the strawberries into a bowl and sprinkle on the castor sugar and the balsamic and toss gently – leave to steep for a few minutes.
8. Whisk together the cream, vanilla and icing sugar to soft peaks.
9. Assemble the pavlova by placing the meringue onto a plate, top with the whipped cream then top with the marinated strawberries.