xmas month 2022- layered watermelon and strawberry pavlova

xmas month 2022- layered watermelon and strawberry pavlova

• 19 Dec 2022

Each year for Christmas, I declare I will make Christopher Tse's famous watermelon cake and so far it hasn't happened. It wasn't even on my radar this year until I saw a photo on instagram of a layered turkish delight pavlova from Kepos and Co.  

Inspired by Christopher Tse's famous confection, I decided to make a watermelon and strawberry version of the pavlova.

Instead of Turkish delight and grapefruit segments, I used watermelon cubes and rosewater scented strawberries then topped the pavlova with grapes, pistachios and rose petals. The pavlova is very fragile but once assembled it looked gorgeous and the pavlova base was far easier to make than an almond dacquoise! 

Here's the recipe for you which makes a 10 x 20cm pavlova. For all my recipes I use a 250ml cup and a 20 ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60g eggs. My oven is a conventional gas oven so if your oven is fan forced you may need to reduce the oven temperature by 20°C.

Layered watermelon and berry pavlova  - serves 4
Pavlova
4 egg whites, at room temperature
210g icing sugar mixture
20ml white vinegar
10ml rosewater

 
Filling

200 gm hulled strawberries 

5 ml rosewater 

1 tsp caster sugar

100g seedless watermelon, cubed

2½ ml rosewater 

½ tsp caster sugar

150g mascarpone

150 ml pouring cream

25g icing sugar

½ tsp vanilla paste

Topping
7 seedless red grapes, halved
3 tsp slivered pistachios
3 tsp dried rose petals, optional 

Method
Preheat the oven to 160°C, conventional. Spray a 20 x 20cm square baking dish with oil and line with baking paper.

Using an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites for 2 to 3 minutes until soft peaks form. With the machine running, add the icing sugar mixture, the vinegar, and rosewater and then whisk for a further 8 to 10 minutes, until glossy and firm.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and make the top smooth.  Bake for exactly 20 minutes, then remove from the oven and set aside to cool completely. Don’t worry if the meringue looks a bit rustic when you take it out of the oven.  

Filling
20 minutes before assembling the pavlova, halve the strawberries and place in a bowl with 5 ml rosewater and 1 tsp caster sugar. Stir to combine then set aside. Place the cubed watermelon in a separate bowl with 2½ ml rosewater and ½ tsp caster sugar. Stir to combine then set aside.

Put the mascarpone, cream, icing sugar and vanilla a large bowl and whisk until soft peaks form.

To assemble
Cut the meringue in half so there are two 20 x 10 cm pieces. Put one piece on a serving plate and top with half the mascarpone mixture, half the cubed watermelon and half the strawberries. Gently top with the remaining meringue, then the  mascarpone mixture, the watermelon cubes and the strawberries. Just before serving, scatter over the grapes, pistachios and rose petals.

The pavlova looked so pretty and the combination of the berries, watermelon with just a hint of rosewater was delicious. I can see I'll be making many different versions of this layered pavlova in my future.

I'll be back tomorrow some cookie recipes to tide you over until 2023.

Bye for now,

Jillian