little pavlova

With this recipe I participate in the contest appeared on the blog il gattoghiotto mise en place, which ends April 30. Spring, the desire to be outdoor, a table on the terrace, the favorite books, a cup of coffee and a delicious sweet, revisited by me. This dessert, invented in honor of a Russian dancer from the chef, who was fallen in love with her, wants to remind the lightness and levity of the dancer through the ingredients and the colours of the fruit. The cues are taken from Luca Montersino's meringue and cream. 

For the French meringue (by Montersino):

• 250g egg whites
• 250g caster sugar
• 250g caster sugar

Preheat oven to 100°

Whip the egg whites with the first sugar until stiff, add the second sugar stirring gently with a spatula from bottom to top. Add now 125g of chocolate chips. Pour it in a sac-à-poche and make overlapping circles to earn little baskets. Bake for 3 hours with the valve open.

  

               

                   

When I tried it the first time I couldn't believe as it is absolutely simple. You don't have TO WHISK the cream; if you prefer look at the video on youtube: it's amazing.

I have reduced the doses of 1/4:

        doses used                                        starting doses of Montersino

• 200g whole milk                                       800g
• 50g fresh cream                                       200g
• 75g egg yolk                                             300g
• 75g sugar                                                 300g 
• 10g cornflour                                              35g
• 10g di rice starch                                         35g
• 1/2 Bourbon vanilla bean

For the method I advert to Video Montersino, where you will see the doses are for a really great quantity of cream .

Briefly:

1. Heat milk and cream.

2. Slit the vanilla bean, put the seeds with sugar and the berry in the milk.
3. Beat eggs with sugar and vanilla until a foam (incorporating the air the eggs will float on the milk).  

4. Add to the whipped eggs the cornstarch and the starch of rice stirring with a spatula.
5. Remove the vanilla bean from milk and add the eggs-sugar-starches into the milk about to boil. The eggs float: I DO NOT STIR THE CREAM! I have to stir only when the milk comes over the eggs and forms some small volcanoes like here in the picture.
 

Cream - Milk volcanoes



6. Whisk for few seconds and put it out. Sterilize the bowl, in which we will pour the cream with alcohol 70% (I had a brandy), put the film in contact with the cream, let cool in the fridge or on ice water bath.


Cream is ready



For Chantilly Cream:

• 500g fresh cream
• 50g icing sugar

Whip the cream until becomes firm .

Mix the whipped cream to the cream. Store in the fridge.



Cream and whipped cream

 Finish the cake:

• 2 baskets of strawberries
• frozen berries

Thoroughly wash the strawberries, dip, sprinkle with brown sugar and leave apart for half an hour.

Fill each meringue basket with the cream spreading with a sac-à-poche.  Garnish with fruits and sprinkle with icing sugar. Serve with coffee.

Serves: 10