Here
is another recipe adapted from Evelyn Rose, this time from ‘New Jewish Cuisine’
– new as in written in 1988. She
is a bit like the ‘Delia Smith of Jewish cooking’ not necessarily all that
interesting, but the recipes always work. One of my earliest posts is one of
her recipes – A chicken pie to unify and lead the Jewish people, and I wrote then that I didn’t get on with
her writing style and found the recipe difficult to follow. This time I
definitely found it easier – maybe I have leant more about cooking and
following recipes in the two years since that post, or maybe I am just more
intuitively tuned to desserts. Probably a bit of both to be honest.
As
long as I can remember, this dessert (originally known as lemon shaum) has been
on of the ultimate special occasion desserts, made by both my Mum and
Grandmother, and loved by all. As I have said previously, I am so
blessed and privileged to come from such a rich food heritage: most of my
earliest memories are of the dishes cooked by my grandmothers and
great-grandparents – roasted duck, fried fish, split pea soup, chicken soup
with kneidelach, lemon meringue pie, apple pie, and the best chocolate
mousse on the planet. So when the family came together to celebrate my maternal
grandparents’ diamond wedding anniversary, I really wanted to make them a
special dessert.
I’m the one in the top right hand corner flashing their knickers – as my Mum said ‘see, even then you were an exhibitionist.’ |
The
pavlova is incredibly light, with an almost foamy or marshmallowy texture in
the middle. Originally this recipe is just with lemon, but we tried it with
lime too once, and never looked back.
It
is very sweet, but the lemon and lime cut through it and make it incredibly
refreshing and not stodgy at all. It is great dish for any kind of dinner party
as it can be made well in advance, and its rectangular shape means that it is
easier to slice and portion than a traditional round pavlova.
If
you are celebrating Rosh Hashanna (Jewish New Year) this week, this would make
an ideal dessert at a festive meal, especially due to the hot weather
forecasted.
Special
thanks go to my Mum, both for teaching me how to cook, and for helping me with
this dessert and providing the freezer space.
Ingredients
For the meringue:
4
egg whites
¼
tsp cream of tartar
225g
(1 cup) caster sugar
2
level tsp cornflour (mix the cornflour into the caster sugar)
(I
know this seems like a high number of ingredients for a meringue, but don’t
skip any out. The meringue needs to be really sturdy to survive the freezer
intact)
For the ice cream:
4
egg yolks
125g
(½ cup) caster sugar
3
tbsp fresh lemon juice
3
tbsp fresh lime juice
Grated
zest of 1 lemon
Grated
zest of 1 lime
275ml
(½ pint) double cream or 225ml
non-dairy cream
Method
I don’t mean to sound like a
GSCE exam invigilator, but really do read all the steps before getting started.
Be aware that you will need a lot of freezer space, and it is probably a
massive pain in the arse to make if you don’t have access to a freestanding
mixer. Sorry about the quality of the photos.
Preheat
the oven to 150 c with fan. Line 2 baking trays with grease-proof/baking paper,
each piece marked on the reverse with a rectangle drawn 28cm long and 12cm wide.
This may seem tedious, but this is a centrepiece dessert, and so really worth
making sure that the layers are the same size.
To make the meringue layers:
Whisk
the egg whites, sprinkled with the cream of tartar, until they hold stiff,
glossy peaks.
Mix
together the caster sugar and the cornflour and then add it to the egg white
mix, 1 tablespoonful at a time, whisking until stiff again after every
addition.
Use a tiny amount of the meringue to 'stick' the baking paper onto the baking tray. Spoon
the meringue equally into the two rectangles, and use a fork to even it out.
Put
the meringues in the oven, and reduce the temperature to 140c and bake for an
hour until the meringues are crisp to the touch and will lift off the paper
easily (be very careful when you do this, it is fragile).
To make the ice cream
filling:
Start
this as soon as the meringue goes into the oven.
Put
the yolks and sugar into a saucepan – stir until creamy, and then add the
citrus juices and zest. Cook over a gentle heat, stirring constantly until the
mixture thickens. Take it off the heat and stir for a further minute, and then
pour it into a bowl and refrigerate until completely cool. This will take about
half an hour.
Whisk
the cream until it stands in soft peaks, and then beat in the cold lemon
custard/curd, one tablespoon at a time until completely amalgamated into the cream.
On
a tray, spread out a piece of foil large enough to cover the entire pavlova.
Place one rectangle of meringue on it, spread the filling evenly over the whole
thing, and then lay the second meringue on top. Freeze uncovered until solid,
and then wrap carefully in foil and keep in the freezer.
Take
it out of the freezer about 20 minutes before serving – it should be served
semi-frozen, so that the lemon-lime filling has the texture of soft ice cream.
You can keep it in the freezer for up to 1 month.
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