Ok, so I wasn’t going to tell you this, but I *had* seriously great Peach Melba Mini Pavs planned for this week’s Edible Adventures post. And I was pretty chuffed about the prospect of serving them up.
You know – combining two classic Aussie desserts in one, a perfect Pièce de résistance for your Australia Day barbecue.
Except, when it came to the execution, everything went wrong.
My mini pav shells (made to Donna Hay’s exacting standards) sank and then cracked as soon as I tried to touch them.
I went out to grab some raspberries and cream only to realise that I’d left my wallet at home and ended up having to borrow said ingredients from my friend Rose (who says neighbours don’t borrow sugar anymore?).
I realised I only had one peach left because the others had been swiped by stonefruit bandits in the night (ok, it was probably me).
Yep, you could say it was on its way to being a massive fail.
Except, as I was about to crack the sads and start again, I realised that what I was actually on the verge of creating was probably even more true-blue than the original.
Because, let’s face it – we’ve all had our little Aussie battles in the kitchen. This one was mine. And I wasn’t going to let it get the better of me.
Let’s call the end result “The Steven Bradbury Melba Mess”. For those times when everything going wrong makes something *so* so right.
The Steven Bradbury Melba Mess:
150ml Egg whites (about 4 eggs’ worth)
175g Brown sugar
2 tsp. of white vinegar
2 tbsp. Sifted corn starch
200ml Whipping cream
1 tsp. Vanilla bean paste
Fresh ripe peaches (one will do – just slice it thinner)
Fresh Raspberries
Raspberry coulis (frozen raspberries heated through with a bit of orange juice) OR runny raspberry jam
Method:
- Preheat oven to 150C
- Whisk egg whites in a stand mixer until soft peaks form.
- Add sugar gradually, continuing to whisk until you hit stiff peaks. Add the cornstarch and vinegar and whisk to incorporate.
- Use a Flexi spatula to scoop onto a lined baking tray (it’s up to you whether you try for the whole pav or stick to minis that you can break up later)
- Drop temp. to 130C and bake for an hour. Then open the oven door and allow pavs to dry out and cool completely (another hour).
- Meanwhile, whip cream with the vanilla bean paste until a semi-firmish peak consistency.
- Assemble in whatever fancy glasses/tumblers you can find. OR, if your pav has worked, pop it on a cake stand, top with cream, coulis/jam, peaches and raspberries and then give yourself a pat on the back, you legend.
