Strawberry Pavlova - Verbena
Tuesday, June 2, 2020
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For 6 about 9 cm in diameter:
For meringues:
2 egg whites (60 g)
60 g vanilla semolina sugar
25 g icing sugar
For the verbena cream:
15 cl milk
10 cl cream
15 to 20 verbena leaves, depending on their
potency
10 g cornstarch
2 egg yolks
25 g sugar
25 g white chocolate (optional)
200 g strawberries
A few crushed pistachios
I use homemade vanilla sugar which is less
strong than that of trade. You can use plain semolina sugar and possibly
replace a small portion with commercial vanilla sugar.
Preheat the oven to 90oC.
In a container, turn the whites into the snow.
When they are firm, add the sugar, in one go, and beat another 2 or 3 minutes,
the mixture should be smooth and shiny. Then stir in the sifted icing sugar
with a spatula.
Transfer the mixture to a socket pocket. On a
baking sheet covered with parchment paper, arrange circles about 9 cm in
diameter and then add around to form like tarts.
Bake for 2 hours. Then let the meringues cool
in the oven, door- and open. I like dry meringues. If you prefer them to be
fluffy, reduce the cooking time.
Remove 5 cl of cold milk to mix with starch.
Chop the white chocolate.
Heat the milk and cream. Add the verbena
leaves. Leave to infuse for about 20 minutes. Return to heat.
Beat egg yolks and sugar. Stir in diluted
starch. Pour in the milk/cream mixture. Mix well and then filter. Return the
mixture to the pan. Heat until mixture thickens, stirring constantly. Remove
from heat, add chopped white chocolate and mix vigorously.
Transfer to a container, cover on contact with
film paper. Allow to cool and store in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
When ready to serve, garnish meringues with
verbena cream, chopped strawberries and sprinkle with a few crushed pistachios.
Do not prepare the parole in advance
otherwise, the meringue will soften.