Orange mini pavlovas are a heart-healthy special-occasion dessert! Pavlovas are a little complicated to make, which is why they are a special-occasion dessert. You can make the the pastry cream a few days ahead of time (store it in an airtight container in the fridge.)
Yes!!! I figured out to make low fat pastry cream with skim milk and only 2 egg yolks! It turned out well, and now I know how to do it, so I can use it in other desserts.
Pavlova, named after the famed Russian ballet dancer Anna Pavlova (not to be confused with the Russian gymnast), is a classic Australian dessert. Pavlovas are light and airy, with a crunchy outer shell and a marshmallow-y interior, usually eaten around Christmastime. Australians usually fill their pavlova shells with pastry cream or whipped cream, and top them with fresh fruit.
The American Heart association recommends meringue cookies as a light, heart-healthy dessert item in all their cookbooks. They are naturally fat-free! Meringues are low in calories because they are mostly made of air!
Meringue definitely requires an electric mixer (whipping egg whites into a meringue by hand with a whisk is a lot of work).
A few words about meringue
If there’s even one drop of oil or egg yolk, the egg whites will never be able to whip up into a meringue. It’s very important to use a clean bowl. If you plan on separating egg whites from their egg yolks, it’s very important to be careful. If there’s any egg yolk in your egg white, you can’t use it to make a meringue!
You’re looking to whip the egg whites into glossy “stiff peaks” that stand up and hold their shape like this:
See how the meringue sticks inside the whisk? See how there’s a firm pointy peak that stands up in the air and stays there? That’s what we’re going for.
A few words about piping the meringue shells:
You can just spoon the meringue into piles on the baking sheet and use the back of a spoon to “hollow it out.” I found it easier to use a pastry bag and pipe the meringue.
I used a pastry bag and a Wilton 1M open star tip to pipe circles (about 3.5 inches in diameter) on the baking sheet. After piping the circle, I piped a rim around the outer edge. The rim creates “basket” or “bowl” for the pasty cream to sit in.
It was also easier to “squirt” the pastry cream into the meringue shells with a pastry bag, rather than spoon it in.
The easiest way to fill a pastry bag is to stand it upright in a tall drinking glass, tumbler or coffee mug. Fold the edges of the pastry bag down over the rim of the glass and spoon the meringue into the bag.
Meringue shells need to bake for a while
Meringues bake for a long time at a low temperature. When baking ends, leave the oven door shut and turn the oven off. This allows the meringues to become “crispy.”
Humidity will make the meringue shells soggy. Wait until serving to fill the meringue shells with the pastry cream. I discovered that putting the meringue shells in the fridge overnight results in “chewy” meringues, if that’s what you desire.
I topped the pavlovas with dried orange slices (from Trader Joe’s), and canned mandarin orange slices would taste fantastic too.
Orange Mini Pavlovas
Equipment
- 1 Electric mixer
- parchment paper
- 1 tall tumbler glass
- 1 pastry piping bag
- 1 pastry decorating tip (I used the Wilton 1M star tip)
Ingredients
Low fat pastry cream:
- 1 cup skim milk
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 3 tablespoon sugar
- 2 tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
Orange meringue:
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 9 tablespoon liquid egg whites
- 9 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla paste
Decoration
- 8 dried orange slices
Instructions
Make the pastry cream:
- The pastry cream can be made up to 3 days ahead of time and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- In a small saucepan, heat the skim milk and 1 teaspoon of the orange zest over medium-high heat until the milk is scalded (remove the milk from the heat just before it begins to boil. Don't let the milk boil.)
- While waiting for the milk to heat up, whisk the egg and egg yolk together (save the spare egg white for the meringue)
- Mix 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with 3 tablespoons of sugar. Whisk the cornstarch and sugar mixture into the eggs.
- Strain the orange zest out of the scalded milk. Pour the scalded milk through a strainer and into a large measuring cup.
- Gradually pour about half the hot milk into the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly. (You don't want to end up with scrambled eggs! Pour slowly, and whisk constantly.) We are "tempering" the eggs to avoid scrambling them.
- Transfer the egg yolk mixture to the saucepan with the rest of the scalded milk. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture begins to thicken to a pudding-like consistency. This should only take a minute or two. Don't allow the mixture to boil longer than a few seconds, or it will turn grainy.
- Transfer to a bowl or airtight container. Prevent the pastry cream from developing a skin by laying plastic wrap directly on top of the pastry cream. Put it in the refrigerator to cool.
Make the meringue:
- In a small bowl, whisk together 1 teaspoon of cornstarch and 1 teaspoon of egg whites. Set aside.
- Beat 9 tablespoons of egg white with an electric mixer on medium speed. You can include the egg white you discarded while making the pastry cream, if you want. Be aware that one small drop of egg yolk will prevent your egg whites from ever being able to "whip up" properly. I like to use egg whites from a carton because I don't need to worry about this.
- Once the egg whites are foamy, continue to beat on medium-high speed as you add the 9 tablespoons of sugar one tablespoon at a time. Alternate with a few drops of the cornstarch/lemon juice mixture until all ingredients are mixed together and the egg whites have formed glossy, stiff peaks.
- Add 1 teaspoon of orange zest and ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste. Beat the meringue on top speed for another few seconds, just to show it who's boss.
Arrange and bake the meringue:
- Preheat your oven to 225 °F . Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Put the decorating tip inside your pastry bag. Put the bag, tip-down inside a large, tall glass or tumbler. Fold the edges of the pastry bag over the edges of the glass or tumbler. This is the easy way to fill your pastry bag!
- Spoon the meringue into the pastry bag.
- Pipe out 3-to-4-inch wide meringue circles on the baking sheet.
- Pipe a rim around the edge of the meringue circles to make little "bowl" shapes. (If there isn't enough room for filling, use a spoon to open up the meringue "bowl" a little further.)
- Bake the meringue in the 225 °F for about 1 hour, 15 minutes. Without opening the door, turn the oven off and leave the meringues in the hot oven for another hour to cool and crisp up.
Fill the meringue with pastry cream:
- Just before serving, fill a pastry bag with the pastry cream. Use a tall glass or tumbler to fill the bag; this is the easiest way to do it!
- Use the pastry bag to squirt pastry cream into the meringue "bowl."
- Top with an orange slice and enjoy!
