Happy Easter
Somehow, we’ve reached Easter 2024 already! It feels like just yesterday it was Christmas, and now we’re already heading into spring. What are your plans for Easter? We don’t typically celebrate it as a religious holiday in our family, but we get involved with some fun Danish Easter traditions, like rolling Easter eggs. You can read more about them in this blog post from 2022. We also enjoy a big meal together when we find ourselves in the same place for the occasion, which is sadly quite rare these days. But if we can’t see each other, we can at least bake some tasty recipes – like these lemon and blueberry pavlovas – that remind us of home and family, taste delicious, and fittingly welcome the start of spring!
Today’s Recipe
The recipe we’re sharing with you today was born out of a love for the combination of blueberry and lemon flavors and a classic spring/summer dessert: pavlova! The thing with a pavlova is that you need to make sure to always pair it with sharp and tangy flavors, since the meringue itself is so sweet. That’s why fruit jams, compotes, and curds are the ideal companions, especially when you make them at home and can adjust the sugar content yourself. The lemon in this recipe makes it perfect for an Easter dessert, which should be a somewhat refreshing end to a big meal. For more showstopping Easter dessert ideas, you can check out our recent blog post all about popular Scandinavian Easter foods.
Fresh Flavors and Fun Colors!
Easter is a time to welcome spring, and what better way to do so than with the fresh flavors and fun colors of this delicious dessert! It may seem like a lot of components, but they all come together pretty easily to create an amazing fusion of flavors and textures. The base is the pavlova, or meringue, which is crisp on the outside but nice and soft in the middle. It’s topped with lemon curd, blueberry compote and whipped cream, the perfect tart contrast to the sweet pavlova base. Then, add fresh blueberries and lemon zest on top to decorate and for a nice textural addition. Delicious!
Ingredients
For the pavlova, you’ll need egg whites, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, and lemon juice (or cream of tartar). This is a standard combination of ingredients for a pavlova and you can’t really make any substitutions, as it will impact the texture of the final dessert. The great thing about this recipe is that while you have to separate the eggs to use the egg whites for the pavlova, you can use the yolks for our homemade lemon curd! The curd is also made with sugar, cornstarch, salt, lemon zest and juice, and unsalted butter. The blueberry compote is very simple as well, made with blueberries, sugar, and salt. For the whipped cream, you need whipping cream, optional sugar, and vanilla extract. Finally, for the topping, you’ll need fresh blueberries and lemon zest.
Instructions for Beautiful Spring Pavlovas
To make this stunning dessert, start by making the lemon curd and blueberry compote and allowing them to cool. For the pavlova, start by separating the yolks and whites carefully. Make sure that no yolk gets into the egg whites, as it won’t be able to whip up into stiff peaks if there’s even a tiny bit of yolk. Whip the egg whites while slowly adding the sugar, a spoonful at a time. Slowly means slowly, as the sugar needs to dissolve or else the meringue will turn out grainy. Shape the pavlovas on a baking sheet, then bake and let cool in the oven. This is a slow process because you’re trying to dry out the meringue so that it’s crispy on the outside. Just before you’re going to serve the pavlovas, make your whipped cream and assemble them. Yum!
Mini Pavlovas with Lemon Curd and Blueberry Compote
Ingredients
MERINGUE
- 4 egg whites from large eggs
- 200 grams granulated sugar (corresponds to about 50g or 1/4 cup per egg white from one egg)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- A splash of lemon juice (you can also use a small amount of cream of tartar as the stabilizer)
BLUEBERRY COMPOTE
- 150 grams blueberries
- 75 grams granulated sugar
- Pinch of salt
LEMON CURD
- 3 large egg yolks
- 100 grams sugar
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- Pinch of salt
- Lemon zest from 1 lemon
- 200 ml lemon juice
- 42 grams unsalted butter
WHIPPED CREAM
- 120 ml heavy whipping cream
- 1-2 tsp granulated sugar (optional – we do not sweeten our whipped cream, but feel free to add a little sugar if you would like!)
- Splash of vanilla extract
TOPPING
- Fresh blueberries
- Lemon zest
Instructions
BLUEBERRY COMPOTE
- Make the blueberry compote ahead of time or while your pavlova is cooling so it has enough time to cool down.
- Start by combining blueberries, sugar, and a pinch of salt in a small pot or saucepan.
- Cook over medium to medium-low heat until the blueberries burst and the mixture thickens slightly – about 5-7 mins. Keep stirring during this time to prevent the sugar from burning on the bottom. We also don't mash our blueberries but just let them burst from the heat so that it doesn't become too smooth of a mixture, we like a bit of a chunkier texture!
- Set aside to cool at room temperature for about 20 minutes, then refrigerate.
LEMON CURD
- Make the lemon curd ahead of time or while your pavlova is cooling down so it has time to cool down in the fridge.
- Combine egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, salt, and lemon zest in a medium mixing bowl.
- Whisk together well to combine, making sure there are no cornstarch clumps. The egg yolks will also lighten in color slightly.
- Add in lemon juice and whisk well.
- Transfer the mixture to a pot over medium low heat. Heat the mixture until it thickens, whisking constantly to avoid lumps. It should reach the consistency of a thick custard. Add in the three tablespoons of butter and stir/whisk to combine.
- Transfer to a bowl and place plastic wrap so that it touches the surface of the curd, preventing it from forming a skin.
- After it has cooled down for a bit at room temperature, put it in the fridge and let it cool completely.
MERINGUE
- Preheat your oven to 220 F (100 C).
- Separate the egg whites from the yolks using your preferred method. We usually use the method of passing the egg yolk between two halves of the shell until the egg white falls into a bowl below. Save the egg yolks for a different recipe! It's important that no egg yolk get in the bowl of egg white, as this could prevent the meringue from whipping properly.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (a totally clean bowl, with no oil/residue anywhere, as this could affect the egg whites whipping properly as well) with the whisk attachment, add your egg whites and a splash of lemon juice (you can also use some cream of tartar as the stabilizer instead). Start whipping until your egg whites look frothy.
- Add in your vanilla extract. Slowly add your sugar one tablespoon at a time while the mixer is running. If you add it too quickly, the sugar will not dissolve and it will end up grainy!
- Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally, so there are no sugar crystals around the edge.
- Once all the sugar has been added, keep whisking until you have reached stiff peaks – this can take a little while! Note: if your mixture is underwhipped, it will remain liquidy, but not split. If your mixture ever splits or separates or looks curdled, you have likely overmixed your egg whites, and there is no coming back from that – start over with new eggs!
- Once the mixture has reached stiff peaks, prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. Add a little meringue underneath each corner of the paper to stick it to the baking sheet for easier pavlova shaping!
- Divide the meringue into 4, 6, or 8 even portions on your baking sheet.
- Using a palette knife or a butter knife, build up the sides a little higher than the middle so you have a bit of a well for your filling to go into.
- We also like to swirl a palette knife along the edges of the meringues to make a wavy pattern!
- Once you're happy with the shape of the pavlovas, bake for 90 minutes on the center rack. If the edges are solidly set and crispy on the outside, you can turn off the oven! In an ideal world, you wouldn't open the oven at all as this can cause the meringue to crack or fall. Leave the pavlovas in the oven to cool down slowly for at least one hour, preferably 2.
- After a few hours, crack open the oven door and let them cool for another 30 minutes to an hour with the door open.
- Take the pavlova out of the oven. You may experience cracking along the top of the ridges/edges that were built up, but if the sides are crispy and baked through, it will have the correct marshmallow texture on the inside and crispy edges!
WHIPPED CREAM
- Make the whipped cream right before serving.
- To make whipped cream, add heavy whipping cream to the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl. Add sugar (if you would like, we usually don't!) and a splash of vanilla extract.
- Whisk for a few minutes until you reach stiff peaks. And yes, you can do this by hand with a handheld whisk, it just may take a while longer!
ASSEMBLY
- Assemble the pavlovas by transferring the meringues to your serving dish/plate.
- Add lemon curd to the well in the center, splitting it evenly between the meringues.
- Add blueberry compote on top, also dividing it evenly between the meringues.
- Pipe or dollop whipped cream onto each meringue (split evenly between your meringues!)
- Top with fresh blueberries and lemon zest.
- Best enjoyed immediately after assembling. We've found that they will keep for a few days in the fridge, although it may get a little bit weepy/watery. Enjoy!
