rhubarb strawberry pavlova

It was during that huge thunderstorm last week I made the first rhubarb strawberry pavlova. I was in Suomenlinna and the meringue was in the oven when the sky went dark and it started pouring rain. I rushed to close the windows and sat on the windowsill to listen as the thunder moved over the island. After a couple of hours, the storm had passed, and the meringue was ready. I was able to photograph the dessert in that beautiful after storm light, you can in fact still see the raindrops on those peony leaves!

The sweet, lightly chewy meringue, sour rhubarb, white chocolate cream cloud, and fresh strawberries are a delicious, delicate combination. Almond brittle – which is by the way wonderful as is – brings crunch and saltiness to the otherwise soft delicacy. The dish got so many compliments I decided to bake it twice within a week and served it as a Midsummer dessert!

STRAWBERRY RHUBARB PAVLOVA

6 servings
Active: 20 min
Passive: 4 h

Meringue:
1 dl aquafaba (the liquid from a chickpea can)
1 ½ dl sugar

Rhubarb white chocolate cream:
1 dl rhubarb jam (recipe below)
80 g (vegan) white chocolate
1 ½ dl oat whip cream
½ dl oat crème fraiche

Almond brittle (recipe below)
Strawberries
Edible flowers

Make the meringue first as it takes time to bake – you can even prepare it the day before! Heat the oven to 100 °C. Open a chickpea can and pour the needed amount of liquid into a metal bowl. Make sure that the bowl is very clean and dry. Even a little grease in the bowl can ruin the meringue. Measure the sugar into another small bowl. Start beating the liquid slowly with a handheld mixer until bubbles appear. Add the sugar slowly, while constantly mixing. Switch the speed to high and whisk it for around 10 minutes until stiff peaks form. Add the lemon juice and whisk for a couple minutes. Stiff peaks are formed when you can turn the bowl upside down and the meringue does not move. Spoon the meringue fluff on a parchment paper lined baking tray. The meringue will get wider in the oven so spoon it into a high pile! Bake the meringue for 3 hours, turn the oven off after and let the meringue cool in the oven.

Melt white chocolate in a double boiler or a microwave. Whip the oat whip cream in a bowl. Add in the melted white chocolate and oat crème fraiche and mix well. Stir in very lightly the rhubarb jam. Spoon the rhubarb white chocolate cream on top of the meringue. You can add more rhubarb jam dollops on top. Decorate the pavlova with ripe local strawberries, almond brittle, and edible flowers. The beautiful dessert is best served right away, enjoy!

RHUBARB JAM

3 dl
Active: 10 min
Passive: 45 min

4 rhubarb stalks / 8 dl chopped rhubarb
2 dl sugar
¾ dl water
2 tbsp lemon juice

Wash the rhubarb stalks and chop them into small pieces. Combine rhubarb, sugar, and water in a pot and bring the mixture to boil. Let it simmer for 45 minutes, stirring often not to let it burn. Pour the hot jam into a clean glass jar and let it cool down before using it. Besides making a pavlova, you can enjoy the jam with for example yoghurt or vanilla ice cream!

ALMOND BRITTLE

Active: 15 min
Passive: 15 min

¾ dl maple syrup
1 dl sugar
100 g butter
2 dl dry roasted, salted almonds

Mix maple syrup, sugar, and butter in a pot. Let the mixture simmer for 10 minutes or until it reaches 150 °C in temperature. The color should be golden caramel-like. Stir almonds with the caramel mixture and spread it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Be careful as the mixture is extremely hot! Cut the cooled brittle into small pieces and serve it on top of the rhubarb strawberry pavlova or enjoy it as is!

Have a hot summer!