Pavlova

One of the greatest recipe exports from Australia / New Zealand is the Pavlova. With a crisp exterior and marshmallow centre, topped with fresh berries, it has to be the best gluten-free dessert ever. My mother-in-law is an expert at making this and it tastes even more wonderful with the fresh fruit available in Australia.

The meringue is made from egg whites only and care needs to be taken to ensure no fats (egg yolks, grease) gets into the egg whites.

Meringue Tips

• Separate the eggs when they are still cold. Then cover the egg whites until they come to room temperature.
• Make sure that there's no traces of egg yolks in the the egg whites
• The whisk and mixing bowl should be free from grease, use a paper towel to wipe them down before using.
• Use a glass or metal mixing bowl instead of plastic, as plastic may still contain traces of grease on the surface.
• Try to do the meringue on a cool, dry day. Humidity may cause the meringue to shrink and become a sticky mess. Alternatively, turn on the air-conditioner.
• Use superfine (castor) sugar so it dissolves quicker, or process granulated sugar in the food processor until very fine.
• Use an oven thermometer to check the temperature of your oven. The temperature has to be very low for the meringue to dry out slowly. If the meringue turns brown too quickly, the oven is too hot. If your oven is like mine and the temperature doesn't go down below 150 degrees C, stick a pair of metal tongs on the door when baking. The slight gap will bring down the temperature.

Ingredients:
Meringue
4 egg whites
1 cup superfine (castor) sugar
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1/2 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Topping
300ml heavy whipping cream (at least 30% fat)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
2 tablespoon icing sugar (optional)
Bananas, passionfruit, kiwis and/or any kind of fresh berries


Steps:

To prepare the meringue

1. Preheat oven to 120 degrees C. Draw an 18cm circle on parchment paper and place it on a baking sheet.
2. Using an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, gradually beat the egg whites from low to medium high speed until they form soft peaks.
3. Add sugar one tablespoon at a time, until stiff peaks form. When you stop the electric mixer and hold the whisk up, the meringue should hold up stiff peaks and not droop. Rub a little of the mixture between your thumb and finger, if it feels gritty, the sugar is not fully dissolved. Continue beating until it feels smooth. Add vinegar, cornstarch and vanilla essence. Beat briefly till just combined.
4. Gently scrape the meringue onto the parchment paper. Spread it inside the circle with a spatula.
5. Make a slight well in the centre of the meringue for the topping.
6. Bake it in the oven for one hour and 15 minutes. Lightly tap the meringue with your finger or a chopstick, if it is still soft, bake it longer. It's done if it feels hard. Turn off the oven, leave the door slightly ajar to cool the meringue in the oven (If you used the metal tongs to keep the oven door ajar during baking, remove them now and close the oven door completely). Leave it for at least 2 hours or overnight.

To prepare the whipped cream topping

1. Prepare the topping just before serving. Whip the heavy cream with the whisk attachment until soft peaks form. Use the medium setting and do not overbeat.
2. Add the vanilla essence and beat briefly till just combined. If you prefer sweet whipped cream (chantilly cream), add the icing sugar and beat till dissolved.

Assembly

Remove the parchment paper from the meringue and put on a flat serving plate. Spread the whipped cream within the well. Top with fruit and serve immediately.



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Banana Coconut Streusel Muffins

The coconut streusel is a great addition to this moist banana muffin. Canola oil instead of butter is used in the recipe, so I can convince myself that this is a "healthy snack". The streusel is rubbed in by hand and the batter simply requires a hand whisk to mix all the ingredients together. It's a great recipe to do with kids and the results are so satisfying.

If you love coconut and crunchy streusel like me, double the streusel quantities so it completely covers the top of the muffin. Just be sure not to fill the muffin cups more than halfway, otherwise the streusel will fall off as the batter rises.

Recipe adapted from The Perfect Finish by Bill Yosses

Makes 9 standard size muffins

Ingredients
Streusel Quantities here are doubled the original recipe
1 cup dry grated unsweetened coconut
4 packed tablespoons light brown sugar
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus additional for muffin tin
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, sliced
Pinch of salt

Muffin
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup neutral oil I used canola oil
3/4 cup mashed overriped bananas, about 2 small, 170g
1/4 cup whole milk
1 large egg, at room temperature, lightly beaten


Steps
1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350F. Lightly grease nine cups of a standard muffin tin with oil or nonstick cooking spray, then dust them with flour, or use ungreased paper muffin cups.

2. To make the streusel, in a bowl stir together the coconut, brown sugar, flour, and a pinch of salt. Add the butter and rub the mixture together with your fingers or a pastry cutter until you have large crumbles about the size of a pea. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the remaining cup of flour, the granulated sugar, baking powder, and the remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt.

4. In a small bowl, stir together the 1.4 cup of oil with the mashed bananas, milk and egg until they are well combined. Add the banana mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just combined.

5. Using an ice cream scoop, fill the prepared muffin cups halfway. Top the muffins with streusel, diving the streusel evenly among the muffins. Fill the three empty cups halfway with tap water to prevent the muffin tins from warping. Bake the muffins on the center rack until they rise and are golden and bounce back when pressed, about 30 minutes. Let cool in the tin for about 15 minutes and serve warm.

Leftovers can be wrapped in foil and stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, then re-warmed in a 350F oven for 10 minutes before serving.


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Blueberry Cupcakes with Blueberry Frosting

This is the result of my first official baking experiment. An almost no-fail recipe, great for a beginner. The cupcakes are moist and tender, even with frozen blueberries. The frosting is a Swiss Meringue Buttercream, the steps sound complicated but is actually quite straightforward as long as you follow the instructions. It does take quite a bit of patience though especially if you are using a cheapie hand mixer like mine!

Recipe from How to Eat a Cupcake