Blueberry and Passionfruit Pavlovas

Blueberry and Passionfruit Pavlovas

Serves 6

Ingredients
3 egg whites, at room temperature
Pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
3/4 cup caster sugar
2 teaspoons cornflour
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
3/4 cup caster sugar
1/3 cup chilled, unsalted butter
3 tablespoons passionfruit pulp
200g cream
1/2 cup Greek yoghurt
1 cup blueberries

Method
Preheat oven to 110°C.
Using a 10cm cookie cutter, draw 4 circles on a sheet of baking paper. Flip the paper and place ink-side down on a baking tray.
Place the egg whites, salt and vanilla essence into the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on high for 5 minutes or until soft peaks form. Combine sugar and cornflour and gradually add to eggs whisking until sugar has dissolved and mixture is thick and glossy.
Using a spatula evenly spoon mixture and spread out over circles.
Cook for 1 hour or until the meringues are crisp. Turn the oven off and keep door slightly adjar with a wooden spoon allowing to cool slowly over a 2 hour period or until cooled completely.
For the passionfruit curd, place eggs, yolks and caster sugar in a medium sized saucepan and whisk for 1 minute or until smooth.

Place over low heat and add butter and 2 tablespoons of passionfruit pulp.
Whisk mixture constantly for 3-4 minutes or until thickened.
Remove from heat and allow to cool completely before transferring to a container and storing in fridge.
For the whipped cream add cream into the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk for 2 minutes or until soft peaks form. Fold in yoghurt with spatula and set aside, covered in fridge.
To serve, spread cream mixture over the tops of the meringues. Top with passionfruit curd and blueberries. Serve immediately.

As September rolls around, so do the much-anticipated school exams. From NAPLAN in year 3, right through to University, the nation's young prepare themselves for the assessment period. 

Luckily, the University of Reading has discovered a hidden talent in the humble blueberry that could be the secret to great exams. The study saw a group of children consuming a drink containing either 1¾ cups of fresh blueberries, ¾ of a cup, or a placebo. Before and after the drink they were given a series of cognitive exams to test their memory.

The results? Astounding. The study saw a 13% improvement in the children's memory 6 hours after consuming the high dosage drink, making blueberries the perfect breakfast during the exam block. 

Commenting on the results of her study, Professor Claire Williams noted that the fruit is "rich in flavonoids, (and) a range of health benefits including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects." She also added that "primary school is a vital stage in a child's educational and social development. These results indicate strongly that consuming foods rich in flavonoids (like fresh blueberries) could aid overall learning in the classroom." 

With great timing, Australian blueberries are now in peak season, meaning it's easy for all families to add some punnets to their basket.