Brown sugar Pavlova with mince pies and sherry recipe

Method

1. Preheat the oven to gas 3, 170°C, fan 150°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
2. Whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff peaks form. Slowly add the sugars, a tablespoon at a time, whilst whisking. Once finished, continue to beat for 3 mins until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture looks glossy. Fold in the vanilla extract, cornflour and white wine vinegar.
3. Spoon the mixture into a heap on the baking paper. Using a pallet knife or large spoon, spread the meringue out to form a circle about 20-22cm diameter. (It will spread during cooking to about 26cm.)
4. Place in the oven and immediately turn the temperature down to gas 2, 150°C, fan 130°C and cook for 1 hr 30 mins. After this, turn the oven off and leave the door slightly ajar, but leave the Pavlova inside until the oven has cooled completely – a few hours or overnight.
5. While the Pavlova is cooking, prepare the orange syrup. Place the juice of 1 orange, rind of 2, and the sherry in a small saucepan. Stir in the caster sugar and place on a medium heat. Bring to a simmer and allow to cook for 5-7 mins to reduce the mixture to a syrupy consistency. Set aside to cool.
6. For the topping, whisk the cream and mascarpone with the vanilla extract until soft peaks form, stir in the vanilla paste and set aside.
7. Peel and slice or segment the remaining oranges. Crumble the mince pies into chunks.
8. Spoon the cream over the cooled Pavlova. Top with the mince pies and oranges, then drizzle over the orange sherry sauce.
9. you can make the Pavlova the day before and keep it in an airtight container until ready to serve.

• Tip: If you don’t have mince pies, you could try using chopped up chunks of Christmas pud.

• See more Christmas dessert recipes