McKenzie's Christmas Tree Pavlova

Ingredients 

• 6 extra large egg whites, at room temperature
• 1/2 tsp McKenzie's Cream of Tartar
• 1 1/2 cups caster sugar
• 2 tsp McKenzie's Corn Flour
• 600ml thickened cream
• 1 tbs icing sugar
• 2 x 125g fresh raspberries
• 250g fresh strawberries, sliced
• Gold leaf, for decoration

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 130°C (110°C fan-forced). Line two oven trays with baking paper.

Draw four circles onto baking paper, 1 x 18cm, 1 x 15cm, 1 x 12cm, 1 x 8cm diameter. Turn paper over so the pen or pencil does not touch the meringue.

Place egg whites and cream of tartar into the large bowl of an electric mixer. Beat until firm peaks have formed. Gradually add sugar, approximately a tablespoon at a time. Continue until all the sugar has been added and you cannot feel granules when you rub the mixture between your fingers. Add corn flour and fold in.

Spoon meringue mixture between the pre-drawn circles ensuring they are all similar height. Also make sure the meringue is slightly higher at the sides than the middle. Place into the oven and reduce temperature to 100°C (80°C fan-forced). Cook for 1 ½ hours, then turn the oven off and allow the pavlovas to cool in the oven.

Beat cream and icing sugar with an electric mixer, until firm peaks form. Fork mash half a punnet of raspberries and fold these into the cream.

For assembly, place the larger pavlova onto the serving plate. Spread with some of the cream mixture, and top with a scattering of berries. Continue with remaining pavlovas, building up to form a tree and finishing with the smaller pavlova. Decorate with gold leaf.

Tips

• For best results with pavlova, allow to cool in the oven overnight if possible.
• Ensuring the middle of the meringue is lower than the sides prior to cooking will help with the stability of the tree when assembled.
• When assembling the tree, decorate each layer prior to stacking on top of the other.