Name: Ginger & pomegranate pavlova
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 12
Ingredients: 4 egg whites; 250g caster sugar; 1 tsp white wine vinegar; 1 tsp cornflour; 1 tsp ground ginger; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 4 ginger biscuits roughly crushed, to serve; 100g pomegranate seeds to serve; 350g double cream; 4 tbsp light brown soft sugar; 3 balls stem ginger from a jar, finely chopped, plus 1 tbsp syrup from the jar

Ginger and pomegranate pavlova with two slices cut out

4 egg whites
250g caster sugar
1 tsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp cornflour
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 ginger biscuits
roughly crushed, to serve
100g pomegranate seeds
to serve

For the topping

350g double cream
4 tbsp light brown soft sugar
3 balls stem ginger
from a jar, finely chopped, plus 1 tbsp syrup from the jar

Method

step 1
Heat the oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2. Using a dinner plate as a template, mark a roughly 25cm circle on a sheet of baking parchment in pencil, then flip the parchment over and put it on a large baking sheet or tray.
step 2
Whisk the egg whites with an electric whisk to stiff peaks, then whisk in the sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, until the meringue is glossy. Whisk in the vinegar, cornflour, ginger and vanilla. Dab a little meringue under all four corners of the parchment to help it stick to the baking tray, then spoon the meringue inside the marked-out circle using a palette knife or the back of a spoon. Spread the meringue to the edge of the circle, then create a dip in the middle – you want to create a ‘crater’, where the sides are higher than the centre, so the middle will hold the toppings.
step 3
Bake for 1 hr until the meringue is crisp and the base firm, then turn the oven off and leave the meringue to cool inside for 2 hrs.
step 4
Meanwhile, make the topping. Whisk the cream, sugar, stem ginger and ginger syrup together until the cream has just thickened and reached the soft peak stage.
step 5
To assemble, spread the ginger cream in the middle of the cooled pavlova, then sprinkle over the crushed biscuits and pomegranate seeds. Best eaten straightaway.