Recipes>Blackberry Recipes

Blackberry Pavlova

by Trevor Gulliver, Fergus Henderson from The Book of St John: Still a Kind of British Cooking

To make a 3-tier pavlova, which will feed 20

Iconic London-based restaurant St. JOHN shares this pavlova recipe that you can adapt to suit seasonal fruit and is perfect as a celebratory centrepiece or dinner party dessert.

Discover more delicious Dinner Party recipes

Impressive ideas for hosting

From the book

The Book of St John

Fergus Henderson, Trevor Gulliver

Buy From

Introduction

We like a pavlova in place of a wedding cake, but such an impressive centrepiece is worthy of any celebratory moment. Use peaches, poached quinces, raspberries, or anything else that is in season.

Tags

Ingredients

Essential kit

You will need: an electric whisk.

Method

Place the egg whites, vinegar and vanilla into a spotlessly clean bowl and whisk on a medium speed until soft peaks form. At this point start to add the caster sugar little by little, whisking as you go, until all the sugar is incorporated. Once stiff peaks have formed, add the cornflour and whisk again quickly, on a high speed. You will have a smooth, glossy, malleable mass.

Line three large flat baking trays with parchment and make a mound of egg white on each one: the first mound should be double the size of the second, the second should be double the size of the third. Flatten the mounds into discs and bake in a low oven for up to 3 hours, until the first signs of gold appear, then turn the oven off and wait for it to cool – the result will be crisp without and fluffy within.

Take one punnet of blackberries (around 150g) and sprinkle with lemon juice (like salt on meat, lemon juice makes fruit taste more of itself), then blitz them to make a sauce. In a new bowl add a little sugar to the cream according to taste, remembering that the meringue is very sweet, then add the vanilla extract and whisk to just beyond the ribbon stage. There should be enough structure to make a heap, but a gooeyness is highly desirable.

Now, the glorious assembly! Take the largest disc of meringue, spread it generously with cream and throw a handful of blackberries into the centre. Top with the next disc, more cream, a few more berries in the centre, then finally the last piece of meringue, a proud heap of cream and all the rest of the berries, heaped and tumbling down the sides. To serve, pour the blackberry sauce over the top and sides of your beautiful mountain, running down in rivulets.

Reviews

Have you tried this recipe? Let us know how it went by leaving a comment below.

Cancel reply

Your review

Name *

Our team will respond to any queries as soon as we can - this may take longer over weekends. You do not need to resubmit your comment.

Please note: Moderation is enabled and may delay your comment being posted. There is no need to resubmit your comment. By posting a comment you are agreeing to the website Terms of Use .

Be the first to leave a review

Ingredients

Method

More Dinner Party Recipes

View all

Mary Berry’s Baked Salmon with Parmesan Crust

by Mary Berry from Mary 90: My Very Best Recipes

Mary Berry’s Skate Wing with Caper Sauce and Samphire

by Mary Berry from Mary 90: My Very Best Recipes

Mary Berry’s Baked Salmon with Parmesan Crust

by Mary Berry from Mary 90: My Very Best Recipes

Mary Berry’s Skate Wing with Caper Sauce and Samphire

by Mary Berry from Mary 90: My Very Best Recipes

More Recipes from The Book of St John

View all

Smoked Cod’s Roe, Egg and Potato Cake

by Trevor Gulliver, Fergus Henderson from The Book of St John

Braised Lamb, Peas, Crème Fraîche and Mint

by Trevor Gulliver, Fergus Henderson from The Book of St John

Get our latest recipes, features, book news and ebook deals straight to your inbox every week