Secret Mango and Passion Fruit Pavlova.

Pavlova...you don’t really need words for this do you. You know the drill...criiiispy, ‘only there for a moment’ meringue encasing a shiny, soft, billowing pillow of a marshmallow middle and topped with clouds and clouds of bland, but in a heavenly way, cream. And on top of that party, a jewel like patchwork of fruit and treats.

See, words are rubbish...they don’t convey even a teensy portion of the real joy that a mouthful of pav provides. But you know, don’t you?

What you miiiiight not know though, is that this ‘oooo’ inducing, showstopper of a pud is really very easy on the chef. The hardest part is taking the complements graciously while still pretending a little bit like it was actually, yes, quite a feat of engineering, thank you (oh gosh, I’m a terrible person).

As long as you’ve got a few hours to let it sit, snug in the oven, it requires no sweat and toil from you. That is unless you don’t have an electric whisk or mixer...in that case, just count it as your day’s exercise, because it might be a tad toil inducing. But that just means you actually deseeeerve the ‘ooooo’s. Well done you. Me though...I’ll take them anyway, just don’t tell. With Love and Cake.

Mango, Passion Fruit and Coconut Pavlova.

A few notes:

• Pavs are as versatile as your regular meringue...you could top it with any number of concoctions; berries are a fav for summer, and pears, nuts and chocolate is a great wintery combination. And, if the worst comes to worst and you have a pav disaster, you can crush it all up and go down the Eton Mess route.
• If you're not making this because you're left with egg whites from another recipe, you're going to be wondering what will come of your half dozen leftover yolks....fear not, I have the perfect recipe just around the corner. Portuguese custard tart anyone? And if you just can't wait...how about this beauuuutiful biscuit recipe. 
• Use an electric hand whisk if you can....unless you're training for the Olympics.

Makes one giiiiant pav

You will need

1 large baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper

6 egg whites

pinch salt

300g caster sugar

350ml double cream

1 small, super ripe mango, sliced

The pulp and seeds of 1 passion fruit

1 tbsp dessicated coconut, toasted under the grill for a few moments

• First job...preheat your oven to 120°c.
• Whisk up your egg whites with the salt so they form stiff peaks...as in, when you pull the whisk out they leave behind a nice proud looking mountain that doesn't flop over, if it flops, keep whisking.
• Then add the sugar, a tablespoon at a time, whisking constantly until eventually you have a shiny and thickened cloud.
• To make sure your greaseproof paper doesn't move around on the baking sheet dab a bit of the meringue mixture in each corner of the baking sheet and press the paper on top.
• Make a nice big disc, with a slight dip in the middle, of meringue on the baking sheet and bake for 2 hours 30 minutes.
• When the time is up, turn the oven off but leave the pavlova inside to cool slowly.
• When it's cool and ready for its toppings, softly whip the cream and spread gently over the meringue.
• Top with the mango slices, drizzle over the passion fruit pulp and sprinkle the coconut over the top.
• Stand back...be proud and keep quiet.