Pavlova Vintage Cakes

Ah, stop it, I love them too much! Serving your guests their own petite portion of pavlova is so charming. You could top these cakes with your choice of fruit, or place a selection out for your guests to decorate their own desserts. I am a kiwi-and-strawberry pavlova girl myself, thanks for asking.

MAKES 4 MINI CAKES

INGREDIENTS

• 180 g (6 ½ oz) egg whites (from about 6 eggs), at room temperature
• ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
• 400 g (14 oz) caster (superfine) sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
• cooking oil spray, for spraying
• 300 ml (7 fl oz) thickened (whipping) cream
• fresh seasonal fruit of your choice, to serve

To make the meringue mixture for your pavlovas, ensure the bowl of your stand mixer is clean of any residue and attach the whisk. Place the egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl and whisk until foamy. With the mixer running, slowly add the sugar, one heaped spoonful at a time. Once all the sugar is incorporated, whisk on high speed for afurther 5 minutes, then stir in 1 teaspoon of the vanilla.

Cut out 4 pieces of baking paper to about 10 cm (4 in) × 10 cm (4 in). Preheat the oven to 90°C (195°F) fan-forced.

Spray some oil on a metal scone cutter and place onto one of the baking paper squares.

Put the meringue mixture into a piping bag and snip the end to make a 2 cm (¾ in) hole. Pipe the meringue into the scone cutter. We want to pipe around the circle in a spiral until the meringue reaches the top of the cutter. Carefully remove the scone cutter.

I use a turntable and a palette knife to smooth the sides of the meringue out to resemble a plain iced cake. Repeat this for all 4 pavlovas.

Use a clean spoon to scoop a small divot out of the top of each pavlova (where the cream will sit after baking).

Next you can choose your favourite piping tips and load them intoyour piping bags. Divide the remaining meringue mixture between them and pipe your desired vintage cake patterns on the pavlovas. I used a small star tip for the border and a leaf tip for the ruffles.

Carefully transfer the mini pavlova cakes onto a baking tray and bakefor 80 minutes. Leave to dry in the oven with the heat off for an extra 30–60 minutes before removing.

Once the pavlovas are cooled, whip the cream and remaining vanilla to medium peaks and spoon into the divots of the pavlovas, smearing a little more to the edges. Now add your fruit topping and serve each individual cake to your guests.

To store: Once decorated, pavlovas are best eaten on the same day as they will start to go mushy. You can store the undecorated baked meringue in an airtight container for 3 days.