Raspberry Lemon Mini-Pavlovas

In honor of Mayday (and thinking about what to bring to multiple Mayday potlucks this weekend) I decided to break out some of last summer's raspberries hiding out in my freezer. Thinking about berries, whipped cream, and some sort of substance to put them on, I happened to spy an old Martha Stewart "Food Everyday" magazine on my table (KP, I promise I will give these back to you soon) and saw a recipe for Pavolva and Berries.

I have never heard of Pavlova before, but a little internet research on Wikipedia yields the following: "Pavlova is a meringue-based dessert named after the Russian ballet dancer Anna Pavlova. Colloquially referred to as "pav", it is a cake similar to meringue with a crispy crust and soft, light inner."

Pavlova is apparently quite popular as a national dish in both Australia and New Zealand, where it was created in honor of Anna during one of her tours there. And it is typically made for celebrations. So! Mayday Pavlova it is! However, rather than make one or two larger pav's, I tried some mini, tartlet sized ones.

Meringue is fairly simple - there is some mixing labor involved (particularly since I am using hand powered egg beaters), and a lengthy oven time (up to 2 hours), but otherwise is very easy. Once cooled, the meringue is then topped with whipped cream, lemon curd, and berries. See the lemon curd recipe below. (For potluck #2, I mixed the lemon curd with whipped cream a la "Lemon Curd and Blueberry Tart" to put on biscuits with the rest of the raspberries. and yum - really good.)

This recipe is from Martha (my first Martha recipe ever?!):

3 large egg whites at room temp
pinch of cream of tartar
1/2 cup sugar
1 t. vanilla extract
1 c. lemon curd
1+ c. whipped cream
1 1/2 c. mixed berries

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line cookie sheet with parchment.
2. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer (or a hand one of you are me), beat egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form - about 2 min. Beat in 1/4 cup of sugar. With mixer running, add last 1/4 c. of sugar 1 T. at a time. Scrape bowl as you go and continue to beat on high until whites are very stiff and glossy and sugar has almost completely dissolved - about 5 min. (If using a hand mixer, it will become very difficult to mix!) Beat in 1 tsp. vanilla.
3. Gently shape rounds of meringue on sheet; smooth tops. I used an ice cream scoop to get each mini meringue uniform, but you could also make two larger circles. Bake until meringues are crispy on the outside and detach easily from the paper, about 1 1/2 hours (mine cooked closer to 2 hours) - turning cookie sheet halfway through. Turn oven off and let meringues cool completely in oven.
4. To serve: gently peel from paper and top with whipped cream, lemon curd, and mixed berries (I just did raspberries).
*Note that for mini sizes, these are VERY messy. I think maybe there is a reason these are usually bigger. Just sayin.

Lemon Curd (makes 2 cups):
1 c. sugar
1 T. finely grated lemon zest
2/3 c. fresh lemon juice
8 large egg yolks
1/4 t. course salt
1 1/4 sticks (10T) butter, cut into 1/2" pieces

1. In a medium saucepan off heat, whisk together sugar, zest, and yolks. Whisk in lemon juice and salt.
2. Add butter and place pan over medium high heat. Cook, whisking constantly, until butter has melted and mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (small bubbles will form around the edges). *Do not boil.
3. Remove pan from heat while continuing to whisk. Pour curd through fine mesh sieve into a glass bowl. Cover and refrigerate until cool. (Stores in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks! Yum!)