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A Tiramisu Pavlova for Christmas with Sian Redgrave
Combining two great loves for an elegant festive dessert, stylist and cook Sian Redgrave shares her recipe for a tiramisu pavlova.
This is an amalgamation of two classics, pavlova and tiramisu. Slightly sinful to mess with either of these recipes, as they both have stood the test of time in their own right but why not shake up the usual kiwi and strawberry combination on the classic pav! I am honestly not one to eat a lot of sweets, I am always in pursuit of salty and astringent food but tiramisu is my weakness. I wanted to make an elegant dessert for entertaining whilst giving those at home the option of making something that is still familiar and loved.—Sian Redgrave
I would make this for Christmas lunch or for a dinner party at home. Elements like the meringue and the filling can be made ahead of time to avoid last minute stress. This dessert is best enjoyed with an espresso but even better with an ice cold digestivo like Montenegro on a hot summer’s day.
Tiramisu Pavlova
Serves 8
Ingredients
For the pavlova
- 6 egg whites at room temperature
- 330g caster sugar
- 1 tsp cornflour
- 1 tsp white vinegar
- 2 tsp instant coffee
- 2 tsp dark cocoa powder
For the filling
- 500g marscarpone
- 300ml whipping cream
- 1 tbsp sweet marsala
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 1 tbsp icing sugar, sifted
- 1 packet savoiardi biscuits
- 1 tbsp instant coffee
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
- Dark Dutch cocoa, to serve
- Candied orange peel, to serve
Method
- For the meringue layers, trace a 20cm circle on three pieces of baking paper and line three trays, with the traced side flipped to the bottom. Preheat oven to 130°C fan-forced.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk the egg whites and a pinch of salt on a medium speed until frothy. Add the sugar, one tablespoon at a time, increasing the speed to medium/high. Whisk until all the sugar is combined, the meringue is thick and glossy and the sugar has dissolved (rub a little of the mix between your fingers, if there are still sugar granules continue whisking). Add cornflour, vinegar, coffee and cocoa and whisk very briefly to combine.
- Equally divide one-third of the meringue onto each tray, spreading with a palette knife to form three discs. Bake for 60 minutes until crisp and then leave the door slightly ajar to cool completely.
- For the filling, whisk together the mascarpone, cream, marsala, sugar and vanilla on a medium speed until soft peaks form. Refrigerate until you are ready to assemble.
- To assemble, add one cup of boiling water to the instant coffee and stir in the caster sugar. Set aside to cool.
- Gently peel the first layer of meringue off the baking paper and place onto a serving platter. Spread over half of the cream. Briefly dip a savoiardi biscuit into the cooled coffee, allowing any excess to drip off. Nestle into the cream and repeat with a layer of 10 or so biscuits. Top with a little dollop of cream before placing on the next layer of meringue and repeating this same process.
- Leave the last layer of the pavlova free from cream. Dust liberally with cocoa powder and arrange candied orange peel on top for decoration if you feel like being fancy!
