13 Aug Pistachio and Raspberry Pavlova

A few weeks ago I was gifted a huge box of pistachio nuts from Wercon Boerdery. Brett and I devoured the roasted and salted pistachios in a matter of hours (so moreish!) but luckily I was left with several bags of beautiful shelled pistachios to create something delicious with. I immediately knew I wanted to make a pavlova – a dessert that for some reason has never appeared on the blog (these meringue nests come pretty close though!).
In truth this is actually a hybrid between a pavlova and a Mozart cake. A pavlova is an Australian dessert made with a meringue base that is topped with cream and fruit, where the meringue usually has a crisp shell and marshmallowy middle. A Mozart Cake consists of several layers of a chewy hazelnut meringue (also known as dacquoise) with a hazelnut praline and chocolate filling.
This dessert falls somewhere in the middle: with layers of slightly crunchy, chewy pistachio meringue, a rich, white chocolate cream filling and fresh, tart raspberries on top. Whatever you wish to call it, the main thing to know is that this a truly delicious showstopper of a dessert that will not disappoint!

NOTE: It’s best to make this a day in advance so that the meringue layers can soften and become chewy (and much easier to slice!).

Ingredients:

(Serves 8)

For the pistachio meringue:
200g shelled pistachios
100g icing sugar (190ml) + 1 tbsp for dusting
20g cornflour (40ml)
50g castor sugar (¼ cup)
4 large egg whites (at room temperature)
a pinch of salt
200g castor sugar (1 cup)

For the filling:
200g white chocolate
500ml cream (2 cups)
30ml icing sugar (2 tbsp)
10ml finely grated lemon zest (2 tsp)

For the pistachio praline:
100g white sugar (½ cup)
50g shelled pistachios

For the topping:
350g fresh raspberries (approx 2½ cups)
45ml pistachio praline (3 tbsp)
30ml icing sugar, to dust (2 tbsp)

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line two large baking trays with baking paper. Trace 2 x 20cm circles onto each (I traced around a cake tin) then turn over so that the pencil doesn’t transfer onto your meringue.
• Add the pistachios to a dry frying pan on medium-high heat and toss frequently, until they start turning golden and smell toasty. Remove from the pan and set aside to cool completely.
• Place the cooled pistachios into a food processor with the icing sugar, cornflour and 50g castor sugar. Blitz until you have a coarse crumbly texture (if you don’t have a food processor, chop the nuts very finely then stir in the icing sugar, cornflour and castor sugar).
• Beat the egg whites and salt until soft peak stage, then add the remaining 200g castor one tablespoon at a time, whipping until you have a stiff, glossy meringue.
• Fold in the pistachio mixture. Spoon into a piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle and pipe onto your four 20cm circles to form 4 flat meringue discs.
• Sift 1 tbsp of icing sugar over the meringue then bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly golden. Allow to cool completely on the trays.
• For the filling, finely chop the white chocolate and place in a heatproof bowl. Melt the chocolate over a pan of simmering water, or in the microwave at 20 second intervals. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
• Place the cream into a large bowl together with the icing sugar and lemon zest. Whip to soft peak stage, then fold in the cooled white chocolate.
• For the pistachio praline, line a baking tray with baking paper. Place the sugar into a large pan over medium heat (I like to use a non-stick frying pan). When the sugar starts to melt at the edges of the pan, use a wooden or silicone spatula to bring the liquid sugar towards the centre of the pan and spread out the dry sugar (but don’t stir). Continue doing this until all the sugar is melted and caramel in colour.
• Add the pistachios and stir until the nuts are just coated in the caramel. Pour the mixture onto the prepared tray and set aside to cool and harden. Once completely cooled, finely chop the praline into small pieces. Store in an airtight container until needed.
• To assemble, place one disc of meringue onto a serving plate/cake stand. Spread about a quarter of the white chocolate cream on top, then repeat alternating layers of meringue and cream, finishing with the 4th meringue disc (save the last quarter of the cream mixture for decorating). Refrigerate for at least 6 hours, or overnight to allow the meringue to soften.
• Before serving, spoon over the remaining cream mixture, decorate the top of the pavlova with the fresh raspberries, chopped pistachio praline and a dusting of icing sugar.