Your Shopping Bag is Empty
Living
PAVLOVA FROM WILLIAMS SONOMA
Williams Sonoma brings you a Christmas dessert from celebrated chef Alison Attenborough which uses their scrumptious Peppermint Bark as a show stopping topper to Pavlova, here’s how you can make this at home - it’s certain to be a crowd-pleasing centrepiece for your Christmas table.
Ingredients:
320g sugar
2 tbs. corn-starch
12 egg whites
2 pinches salt
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
570g bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped
590ml heavy cream
1 tin Williams Sonoma Peppermint Bark, 1 sheet broken into small pieces, 1 sheet broken into large shards
Vanilla ice cream for serving (optional)
Williams Sonoma's Peppermint Bark, €30, is available on Level 3 of our Dublin Store.
Method:
Ensure all ingredients are at room temperature.
Preheat an oven to 120°C (250°F or Gas Mark 1) and place racks in the top and bottom third of the oven. To keep layers of meringue even, draw a circle guideline on each sheet of parchment paper before placing on baking sheet. Line two baking sheets with the parchment paper.
In a bowl, whisk together 160g sugar with 1 tbs. corn-starch until evenly distributed. Set aside.
In an electric mixer fitted with a whisk on low speed, whip 6 egg whites with 1 pinch of salt and ½ tsp. cream of tartar until frothy, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium for an additional 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium-high and gradually add in sugar mixture. Whip for 1 minute then add 1 tsp. of vanilla. Continue whipping until egg whites are glossy and reach stiff peaks, 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer meringue to a pastry bag fitted with a 3/4-inch round tin.
On each prepared baking sheet, pipe a 9-inch circle, starting in the centre of the circle and working outward in a spiral fashion. Gently spread meringue level and flat. Transfer baking sheets to the oven and bake until meringues are just slightly browned and dry to the touch, about an hour and 15 minutes, rotating baking sheets halfway through baking. Transfer meringue to a wire racks. Once meringues are cool to the touch, gently remove from the parchment and place directly on the wire racks.
Williams Sonoma's Peppermint Bark is available on Level 3 of our Dublin Store.
Repeat process above with remaining sugar, corn-starch, egg whites, salt, cream of tartar and vanilla. Transfer to pastry bag. Reline baking sheets with parchment, pipe two more circles, and bake and cool as instructed above.
Place the chocolate in the bowl of an electric stand mixer.
In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring cream to a simmer. Pour over the chocolate and let stand for 2 minutes. Stir until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is smooth. Let stand until cooled to room temperature, about 2 hours.
Transfer bowl to an electric stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whip on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a 3/4-inch round tip. Make sure to whip the ganache just prior to assembling the pavlova; it can quickly become too firm to work with.
To assemble the pavlova, pipe a small dollop of whipped ganache on a serving platter or cake stand. Place one meringue layer on top, pipe a layer of whipped ganache over the top and sprinkle with 1/3 of the peppermint bark broken into small pieces. Repeat layers ending with a layer of whipped ganache on top of the fourth meringue later. Top with the large broken pieces of peppermint bark.
Serves 12.
To serve bring to the table with vanilla ice-cream for a showstopping finale to your festive feast. Williams Sonoma food and cookware is now available on Level 3 of our Dublin store.
Recipe courtesy of Alison Attenborough.
Give an incredible selection of Christmas food to a loved one with a Brown Thomas Christmas Hamper.