Pavlova roll with strawberries and mascarpone cream
Kitchen tips from chef Brigitte Berghammer-Hunger
- 4 egg whites
- 180 g sugar
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp white wine vinegar
- Icing sugar for dusting
- 5 sheets of gelatin
- 250 ml liquid cream
- 250 g Mascarpone
- 40 g icing sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest from 1 organic lemon
- 400 g fresh strawberries (200 g for filling/ 200 g as topping)
- piping bag
- 1 tsp icing sugar
- 1 tsp coarsely crushed espresso beans
- For the meringue, preheat the oven to 160 degrees.
- Slowly whisk the egg whites until they form a creamy meringue. Gradually add the sugar and whisk until stiff peaks form.
- Mix in cornstarch and vinegar.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the meringue mixture into a 24 x 32 cm rectangle. Smooth the surface. Bake in a preheated oven on the middle rack (conventional oven setting) for 20 minutes, until the meringue begins to brown lightly.
- Spread a clean tea towel on the work surface. Cover with a sheet of baking paper and dust generously with powdered sugar.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let it cool for about 3 minutes. Then turn the meringue out onto the sugared parchment paper and carefully peel off the top layer of parchment paper. Now loosely roll up the meringue from the long side. This pre-shapes it, making it easier to roll it up with the filling later. Let it cool for 10 minutes.
- For the mascarpone cream, soak the gelatin in ice-cold water. Whip the cream until stiff peaks form and chill. Stir together the mascarpone, powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest to form a thick cream.
- Gently warm 1 tablespoon of mascarpone cream in a saucepan and dissolve the soaked, well-squeezed gelatin in it (do not boil). Remove from the heat. Add 3 more tablespoons of the cream to the warm mixture and stir until smooth.
- Stir the mascarpone-gelatin mixture into the remaining mascarpone cream. Gently fold in the whipped cream. Reserve 4 tablespoons for decoration. Chill everything.
- Unroll the meringue roll again and spread the filling over the meringue – leaving a 3 cm wide border free on one long side.
- Wash the strawberries. Slice half of them thinly and arrange them on top of the mascarpone mixture. Carefully roll up the mixture towards the free edge, using parchment paper and a tea towel for support. Place the roll seam-side down on a cake plate. Chill for 3 hours.
- For the coffee beans, lightly caramelize the powdered sugar in a small pan. Add the beans and toss them in the sugar. Pour them onto a sheet of parchment paper, let them cool, and then gently chop any pieces that have stuck together.
- Quarter the strawberries for decoration, including the green tops. Pipe the reserved cream in a long line using a piping bag, decorate with strawberries. Sprinkle with caramelized beans.
Chef Brigitte Berghammer-Hunger on her recipe for a Pavlova roll with strawberries and mascarpone cream: "The Pavlova has only one disadvantage: you have to eat it on the same day. It's perfect when fresh."
I've adapted the classic Pavlova recipe, named after a ballerina: Here, the meringue layer isn't so hard, but beautifully crisp on the outside, soft on the inside, and less sweet. The trick is to bake the meringue in such a way that it can be rolled up. Just the look of it makes you long for summer, doesn't it?
Tips for the perfect Pavlova roll from Brigitte Berghammer-Hunger:
- When whipping egg whites, all utensils should be completely clean and grease-free. To be on the safe side, wipe the bowl with lemon juice and dry it.
- For a lighter filling, replace cream and mascarpone with quark and yogurt.
This recipe calls for a lot of egg whites, but what to do with the yolks? For sustainable cooking, I recommend using them for hollandaise sauce with Eggs Benedict with spinach and bacon or spaghetti carbonara, for our caramelized limoncello tart with colorful melon salad, or for crème brûlée. Or for homemade pasta...
Try another recipe for Pavlova: Pavlova with fennel seeds and cherry tomato compote.