Vegan Pavlova

Pavlova is a traditional Australian (or New Zealand depending on who you ask - there is a long running feud over who really invented it) involving meringue, whipped cream and fresh fruit. It is served as a dessert for any occasion but usually served on Australia Day or Christmas Day. This is my vegan version :)

I ended up using pomegranate seeds instead of passion fruit because I couldn't find any this time of year. Apparently you can get them on Amazon so I shall be doing that next year!

I had a bit of a fail with the meringue - it tasted amazing and came out exactly as you'd expect but it stuck to the baking paper so I ended up having to pull it apart and serve it crushed on the bottom layer instead of one large piece but everyone LOVED it so it was still a big hit! Kind of a combination of pavlova and Eton Mess!

Vegan Pavlova

Ingredients

Liquid from 2x 16 ounce can of chickpeas
1 1/2 cup of vegan powered/icing sugar
1/2 tsp of cream of tartar
3 tsp of pure vanilla extract
Vegan whipped cream (I used Soyatoo but you can do it yourself with coconut cream).
Fresh fruit (traditionally strawberries, blueberries, kiwi fruit and passion fruit)


Method

Preheat oven to 100C/200F.
In a large mixing bowl add the cream of tarter to the brine and mix with a whisk attachment on a high speed until combined. Turn off the mixer and add the sugar and vanilla and mix on a high speed for ten to fifteen minutes or until the meringue forms stiff peaks.
Seriously this takes a while so don't get discouraged if after 5 mins your mix still looks like clear yellow goo, it will happen - it just takes patience! I have a stand alone mixer which works a treat because I can let it go while I prep other things!

Spoon onto baking paper on a cookie sheet.

Bake for 2-2 1/2 hours. It's ready once top and bottom are hard.
Wait till cooled completely before continuing.
Transfer the pavlova to a serving plate or keep in baking dish.
Top with the whipped cream and fresh fruit.