HOLIDAY CRANBERRY AND POMEGRANATE PAVLOVA

The sweetness and crunch of this holiday cranberry and pomegranate pavlova combined with the thick and sweet mascarpone cream is made for an ideal festive dessert.

There’s something almost magical about the texture of baked meringue. The way it gets so crisp-yet-fragile on the outside, and a simple crack of the outer shell reveals the gooey, soft, and sweet center within.

This Holiday Cranberry and Pomegranate Pavlova came out really well, nice and light, sweet, creamy, fruity, crunchy, whipped, wet, dry…it was as if all of my favorite desserts aspects had been combined into one dish.

Ingredients

Pavlova Ingredients:

6 egg whites, room temperature

1.5 cups granulated sugar

2 tsp corn starch

½ Tbsp lemon juice

½ Tbsp vanilla extract

Sugared Cranberries:

⅓ cup cranberries

½ cup + 3 tbsp sugar

½ cup water

Marbled Mascarpone Cream:

⅓ cup cranberries

⅓ cup pomegranate arils

1 tbsp sugar

½ cup orange or apple juice

1 cup whipping cream

½ cup mascarpone cheese

1 tsp vanilla extract

rosemary sprig and pomegranate arils to garnish

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 250 F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or silicon mat. I used a few plates (large and small) as a guide to draw a 10 inch circle, then a 4 inch circle inside it. Place the form underneath the silicon mat and use it as a guide for your pavlova size. Or simply draw right on the parchment paper and place it on the tray, pencil-side-down.

In a stand mixer with whisk attachment, beat 6 egg white until foamy and gradually start adding the sugar. Whisk on high for 6 to 7 minutes. The mixture will be stiff and glossy.

Stop the mixer, add lemon juice and vanilla extract. Sift in the corn starch and continue whisking for another minute or until well blended.

Using a spatula transfer the meringue immediately onto a silicon mat or parchment paper and form a wreath according to the drawing.

Bake the pavlova at 250 F for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Then turn off the oven and with door closed, let it sit inside the oven overnight to cool completely. Remove pavlova from the oven the next morning, cover loosely with plastic wrap and let stand in a dry, room temperature place for up to 2 days or assemble and serve right away.

To make sugared cranberries, boil water together with ½ cup of sugar until sugar is dissolved, then let cool until just warm and pour the syrup into the bowl. Place cranberries into the bowl and stir to cover them fully with sugar syrup. Cover and freeze for 30 minutes or refrigerate overnight. Then drain and reserve the syrup for later use.

Place the remaining sugar into the dry bowl and dump drained cranberries onto the sugar. Shake the bowl until cranberries are covered with sugar on all sides. Let cranberries dry on a counter for an hour, then cover and refrigerate until ready to assemble.

To make the marbled mascarpone cream, in a sauce pan combine ⅓ cup cranberries, ⅓ cup pomegranate arils, 1 tbsp sugar and ½ cup orange juice. Bring to a light boil, stirring frequently, for a few minutes until cranberries pop and the mixture thickens. Then pulse it with the immersion blender until smooth and strain the sauce through the fine mesh into the jar, discarding the seeds. Let the sauce cool completely.

In the bowl of a standing mixer using the whisk attachment, beat the whipping cream, mascarpone and vanilla extract until soft peaks form, about 2 – 3 minutes. Stir ½ cup of the cream into the cooled cranberry and pomegranate sauce, then carefully use a spatula to fold that mixture back into the bowl of the whipped cream.

Use a large spoon to dollop the marbled mascarpone cream onto the pavlova. Garnish with sugared cranberries, fresh pomegranate arils and rosemary sprigs. Eat!