Caramelized Clementine And Pomegranate Pavlova. Thumbs Up For Magic Arm.

Here is Stewie making his video debut. Best part is 24 seconds in. He got dat rhythm.

Sugar Lumps. There are one or two (or a ton) in this stunning Pavlova.

There is some serious alcohol in the recipe, too. Don’t worry, though. All 250 ml of the dark rum is not used in the dessert. What is, however, adds a fabulous, boozy flavor.

If you haven’t jumped into the pomegranate craze because you feared the mess of deseeding the darned thing (like me)…again, don’t worry. My childhood memories of sticky, staining juice and seeds all over my hands and clothes were erased when I read a magazine article on how easy it is to deseed the pomegranate. The method called for cutting it in half and submerging the fruit in a large bowl of water. Then just pry the seeds away from the skin. The pulp and skin will rise to the top of the bowl and the seeds will drop to the bottom. Here is a link with some photos that illustrate the deseeding process.

What you get here is a crisp meringue layered with some brandy scented whipped cream and topped with rum and caramel soaked fruit. All of this is drizzled with some more caramel. The crunch of the pomegranate and the heady orange flavor of the clementines is heaven.

Caramelized Clementine And Pomegranate Pavlova

Ingredients for the meringue:

10 egg whites
500g (2 1/2 cups) caster sugar

Ingredients for the cream filling:

600ml double (heavy) cream
2 Tbs confectioners’ sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 Tbs brandy

Ingredients for the topping:

6 clementines
150g (3/4 cup) caster sugar
250ml dark rum
2 pomegranates, seeds removed

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 110°C/230°F/fan90°C/gas ¼. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, then draw a 25cm circle on one and a 15cm circle on the other.

2. Whisk the egg whites in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer until they form stiff peaks. While whisking, add the 500g sugar, a little at a time, until the mixture is thick and glossy.

3. Spoon about two thirds of the mixture onto the 25cm circle, then the remainder onto the smaller circle. Use the back of a large spoon to spread the mixture, filling the circles completely. Transfer to the oven and cook for 5 hours. At the end of cooking, turn off the heat and leave in the oven to cool completely.

4. For the topping, use a sharp knife to peel away the skin and white pith from the clementines, then slice them into thin rounds and place in a large bowl. Put the 150g sugar in a deep pan with a splash of water and heat gently, stirring until the sugar has melted. Bring to the boil and bubble vigorously over a medium heat until a dark caramel. Remove from the heat, then pour in the rum (it will splutter, so be careful). If the caramel firms up, stir it over a gentle heat and it will soften again.

5. Pour the caramel over the clementine slices, then set aside to cool. Add the seeds from the pomegranates to the bowl.

6. When ready to assemble, whip the cream with the confectioners’ sugar in a large mixing bowl until just holding its shape, then add the vanilla and brandy. Strain the fruit, reserving the caramel and juices. Place the large meringue on a serving plate, spoon over two thirds of the cream, then spoon over some of the fruit. Top with the smaller meringue, then pile on the remaining cream and fruit. Put the reserved caramel in a small, heavy-based pan and bubble over a gentle heat until reduced and thickened. Allow to cool slightly, then drizzle the caramel over the fruit-covered pavlova and serve.

Note: In step 6, I did not boil down the reserved caramel. I thought the dessert already had enough alcohol, so I used some caramel ice cream topping to drizzle over the pavlova. I really liked the sweet flavor playing up against the boozy fruit and cream.

You can use the reserved caramel, chock full of fruit, over some vanilla ice cream.

Recipe from Delicious Magazine

Caramelized Clementine And Pomegranate Pavlova