Decorate Your Thanksgiving Dessert Namaz With Pavlova Cranberries
After a long day of eating mountains of gravy-soaked carbs, a little flamboyance is truly a welcome sight. Unfortunately, Thanksgiving dessert is usually not light or refreshing at all ; this is another parade of carbs with whipped cream instead of gravy.
Believe it or not, there are people who don’t care about pie. I’m not one of them, but there are legitimate reasons – celiac disease, egg or dairy allergies, no sweets, sudden turkey sleep – to skip Thanksgiving dessert and save space for midnight sandwiches. But I think even those who deny pie will find room in their cold, dispossessed hearts for a cloudy pavlova smothered with cranberry sauce, whipped cream, and plenty of fresh winter fruits.
I know what you’re thinking: who in their right mind would put meringues on their list to prepare for Thanksgiving? Sure, it sounds a little crazy, but I promise this meringue is a breeze – and even if it wasn’t, it was worth it. Between sweet puffed meringues, super-tart cranberry sauce, juicy whipped cream, and crispy pomegranate seeds, each bite is a huge party – just what you need after a heavy meal. If you are against the pie or just want to do something completely different this year, I don’t think you could do more.
Cranberry, pomegranate and Clementine Pavlova
Most pavlov use French meringue as their base, but here I prefer the lazy Swiss meringue. It takes more time to dry properly, but it is much easier to do and it is worth the trade-off in my opinion. Instead of heating the egg whites and sugar in a bain-marie, I just put them in the microwave for a while – it’s a hell of a lot faster. All other parts of this recipe are effortless: stew the cranberry sauce quickly, whip some cream, toast a handful or two of the nuts, and that’s it.
Ingredients:
For the meringue:
- 3 large egg whites
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon of tartar (or 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice or white vinegar)
- Lack of 1/4 teaspoon table salt
For cranberry sauce:
- 450 g fresh cranberries
- 1/2 glass of water
- 1/3 cup brown sugar, plus more to taste
- 1 tablespoon clementine, lemon or orange zest, plus more to taste
- A pinch of salt
Collect:
- 2 cups unsweetened or low sugar fresh whipped cream
- 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds, chopped roasted nuts, orange wedges, apples and straws, or a little bit of everything
- 1 tablespoon clementine, lemon or orange peel
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 215ºF. Draw a 10-12 inch circle on a piece of parchment paper and place it on a baking sheet. Set aside.
Mix the egg whites, sugar, tartar (or lemon juice or vinegar), and salt thoroughly with a fork in a large microwave-safe container. Heat for 15 seconds, mix well with a flexible spatula and rub lightly between thumb and forefinger; if you feel the sugar granules, keep heating and stirring until you stop. It took me about 45 seconds.
Pour the egg whites mixture into a mixer bowl with a beater. Whisk over high heat until mixture is thick, super glossy and peaks firm, 4-5 minutes. Scoop up the meringue in the center of the parchment paper and nudge the edges outward, swinging the top as much as you like.
Bake the meringues for three hours at 215ºF or until the surface is dry to the touch. Raise heat to 250ºF and bake for another fifteen to twenty minutes. Open the oven door slightly, turn off the heat, and cool to room temperature for about an hour. If you do not collect Pavlova right away, wrap it tightly in plastic and store in a dry place for up to two days. It’s okay if the parchment sticks to the bottom – just wrap it up too.
While the meringue is baking, make the cranberry sauce: Combine the cranberries, water, brown sugar, citrus zest and salt in a saucepan and bring to a simmer over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer for five minutes, stirring occasionally, until thick and bubbling. Try and add a little sugar or salt if necessary, but keep it as tart as possible; meringue is pure sugar. Cool to room temperature.
To assemble the Pavlova, transfer the meringue to a serving platter. If yours is dry well, you can remove it directly from the parchment; If it’s sticky, that’s okay, turn it over onto a dish and peel the parchment off the bottom.
Brush the meringue with whipped cream and spoon over the sides. Top with cranberry sauce and sprinkle pomegranate seeds, nuts and / or orange wedges over it. Serve in slices – wet knife here – clutch bag – or with a spoon.
The longer the meringue stays on, the softer it will be, so eat it as soon as possible. It doesn’t have to be too difficult; there are only two people in my house and this is all we have left:
Less than three hours later, Pavlova disappeared. As I said, this is very good.