STRAWBERRY AND KIWIFRUIT PAVLOVA CAKE
STRAWBERRY AND KIWIFRUIT PAVLOVA CAKE
Recipe
Don’t @ me! This cake has the word Pavlova in its title but the recipe is my spin on this classic dessert, not an actual pavlova! There’s no whipped cream or mounds of meringue, but instead, two layers of luscious cake dotted with kiwifruit and strawberries, which are united with lashings of vanilla bean cream cheese icing bringing you creamy, sour and sweet with every forkful.
One of the very special components of this cake is the crushed raspberry meringue on top, these are quite straightforward to make so don’t fear! As for the other decorations, feel free to substitute the freeze-dried fruits for fresh slices of kiwifruit and strawberries.
FOR THE CAKE
150g butter, softened
150g caster sugar
3 free-range eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
100g white all-purpose flour
100g ground almonds
2 tsp baking powder
Pinch sea salt
½ cup unsweetened Greek yogurt
4 large green kiwifruit, peeled and cut into 1cm chunks
300g fresh or frozen strawberries, hulled and cut into quarters
FOR THE ICING
150g butter, softened
2 cups icing sugar
100g cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp freeze-dried kiwifuit powder (optional)
FOR THE MERINGUES
3 free-range egg whites
120g caster sugar
120g icing sugar
1 tbsp freeze-dried raspberry powder
FOR THE DECORATIONS
Handful raspberry meringues
Handful freeze-dried raspberries
2 tbsp Kiwifruit coulis (optional)
Handful freeze-dried kiwifruit slices (optional)
- First, make the raspberry meringues. Preheat the oven to 100°C fan bake, line a baking tray with baking paper.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, with a whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form.
- Gradually add caster sugar one tablespoon at a time until thick and glossy. Finally, fold in the icing sugar and the freeze-dried raspberry powder.
- Scrape the mixture into a piping bag and pipe meringues the size of small strawberries, onto the lined tray. Bake for 2 hours or until they’ve dried out.
- Next, make the cake. Preheat the oven to 170°C fan bake. Line 2 x 22cm tins with baking paper.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until pale, light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and then the eggs, one at a time.
- In 2 parts, add in the flour, ground almonds, baking powder and salt and mix until just combined. Finally, fold through yogurt, being careful not to overmix.
- Evenly divide the batter between the tins and spread out to the sides. Dot in the quartered strawberries and kiwifruit chunks and press down lightly.
- Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until golden in colour, springy to the touch and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
- Allow the cakes to cool for 10 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack.
- Meanwhile, make the icing. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter by itself until smooth. Add the icing sugar and beat on high until seriously light and fluffy. Gradually add the cream cheese, followed by the vanilla and kiwifruit powder, if using. The icing should be smooth, creamy and thick.
- Once the cake is fully cool, ice one layer and then place the other on top. Finally, neatly ice the top of the cake and decorate as desired.
- Serve at room temperature.
- Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to 3 days.