Pomelo Pavlova
It’s a very busy week over here! I have to wrap up some Lunar New Year content, clean and decorate the house for our LNY dinner, fly out to New York to demo some LNY recipes on the Today Show (Thursday 1/19 at 8:45am!) and then fly back in time to shop for and cook LNY dinner! Ahhh! I don’t mind the craziness though, the energy and buzz is quite invigorating. Thankfully, I have my dinner menu set and it’s all things I’ve made before or have testing a bunch of times for cookbook #2!
Dessert will be a generous fruit platter and this Pomelo Pavlova! I’ve made this pavlova a few times and I always just sit and stare at it for a few moments before I mashed it with a spoon to take a bite (dramatic, I know). It’s just so pretty, especially in the sunlight with the glistening honey and juicy segments of fruit, but it’s also so delicious and texturally exciting that I can’t help but quickly take a section for myself before the meringue gets soft.
I only recently fell in love with pavlova, on our honeymoon actually. We had an incredible pavlova in Paris at Ellsworth, which is ironically an elevated American restaurant. Everything about it was perfect. The temperature of the chilled cream and fruit. The airy crisp of the meringue and the slightly softened, chewy moments where the meringue was in contact with the cream. Reuben and I both had our own desserts and the pavlova was actually his (I had a spiced pumpkin custard that was great), but I just wanted to swap so I could have the whole pavlova to myself.
The perk of making your own dessert is that you can have as much of it as you like! This pavlova is quite large and meant to be shared though. Lunar New Year is about wholeness and togetherness, so it’s important to have a dessert that everyone can enjoy. The floral shape of the pavlova is inspired by the Tray of Togetherness that’s often on display for Lunar New Year and filled with various candies. Instead, this is filled with whipped cream, pomelo, pistachios, honey, and a pinch of flaky salt. It’s such a beautiful dessert!!
Pomelo Pavlova
serves 6 to 8
135g (4 large) egg whites *
1/4 tsp coarse salt
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
200g (1 cup) granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
230g (1 cup) heavy whipping cream
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp pomelo zest
1 cup peeled pomelo segments
2 tbsp chopped pistachios
Flaky salt
*save the yolks for salting, recipe is in my cookbook! or you can make a curd with them.
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees and line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
In the bowl of a standmixer fitted with whisk attachment, combine egg whites, salt, cream of tartar, sugar, and vanilla. Mix on medium-high speed until glossy and stiff peaks form, 12 to 16 minutes.
Scoop 7 to 8 mounds of meringue onto the parchment paper (in a flower shape or any arrangement that you want, close enough so they touch when you spread the meringue). With a spoon or mini offset spatula, spread the meringue slightly so they touch and create dips for fillings later. Bake until the meringue hardens and turns a very light tan color, 1 hour. Turn off the heat and allow the meringues to cool in the oven for another 30 minutes. Remove the meringue from the oven and allow it to fully cool on a wire rack or trivet.
In a medium bowl (or bowl of a standmixer), whisk to combine cream, salt, honey, and zest. Continue to whisk until medium-stiff.
When ready to serve the pavlova, fill each dip with whipped cream and top with pomelo segments. Top with pistachios, a drizzle of honey, and pinch of flaky salt. Break the petals apart with a spoon and serve.