This recipe is so easy to make; you can whip it up in no time and have it ready for an afternoon tea or as a dessert to finish a simple dinner.
Ingredients
4 egg whites (if they are small, use 5) at room temperature
¾ cup caster sugar
1 level tbsp caster sugar combined with 1 level tsp cinnamon
½ cup flaked almonds
½ cup whipped cream (+ ⅓ cup whipped cream for decorating)
¼ cup passionfruit pulp (about 3 or 4 passionfruit) (+ 1 passionfruit pulp for decorating)
Method
Preheat oven to 180°C fan forced. Line a 30cm x 25cm x 2cm Swiss roll tin greased and lined with baking paper.
Beat egg whites in a clean, large bowl with an electric mixer on full speed until very stiff peaks form. Gradually beat in the sugar, 1 dessert spoon at a time, beating well after each addition to form a very stiff, glossy meringue when all the sugar has been added.
Spread meringue evenly into the prepared tin, sprinkle with the sugar and cinnamon mixture and top with the scattered almonds.
Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes until the meringue is firm.
Turn the meringue upside down onto a non-stick piece of baking paper. Carefully peel the paper from the base of the meringue and leave it to cool for about 10 minutes.
To fill the pavlova roll, spread the cream over the cooled meringue, then drizzle the passionfruit over the top of the cream, reserving a little to decorate.
Roll up the meringue tightly, starting from the longest side, using the paper to help you. Sit it on your favourite dessert plate with the join underneath.
To serve, dust with icing sugar, add a few dessert spoons of cream dotted in a line on the top of the pavlova roll and drizzle with the extra passionfruit pulp along the top of the dotted cream and chill until ready to serve.
Deb’s tips
When you have removed the pavlova roll from the oven and are ready to turn it onto a piece of non-stick baking paper, dust the paper with icing sugar. This will help you to roll up the pavlova without sticking.
You can use other fruits such as berries, bananas and kiwi fruit, or you could also sprinkle Flake chocolate or peppermint crisp through the middle and on the top.
When you start to roll the pavlova, it’s a good idea to lightly score (running a shallow cut along the edge of the longest side of the meringue just from the edge). This will help you fold and start to roll the base.