Egg-free Pavlova Revisited

A pavlova is such an iconic dessert, isn’t it? It seems to carry a big wow factor and is a suitable ending to a summer gathering. Essentially pretty simple with its sweet and marshmallowy meringue base topped with piles of whipped cream and fruit. Hardly a recipe you might say?

Well I have made a lovely egg-free pavlova before, but with my previous meringue recipe it was quite difficult to make a meringue of any notable size. Not so with aquafaba or chickpea water, where any size seems possible, making it perfect to create the base of a pavlova pud. I didn’t have any dairy-free whippable cream to hand so I made a quick vanilla fromage frais to stand in – the slight tartness actually worked as an excellent contrast to the sugary sweet meringue. I chose to top mine with sweet raspberries and strawberries. It was wolfed down in seconds!

A word of warning though, it must be eaten straight after assembly as the liquid in the topping starts to melt the meringue. A few minutes is fine as the meringue turns sticky and chewy, which is just right for the centre of a pavlova – any longer and you’ll have a gooey mess!

Pavlova (egg-free, dairy-free, nut-free, sesame-free, vegetarian and vegan)

• 1/2 cup caster sugar, whizzed up to make it a bit finer
• 1/3 cup chickpea brine
• 1 tsp arrowroot
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice

– Preheat the oven to 130 degrees centigrade

– Whip together the chickpea brine and arrowroot until soft peaks are starting to form

– Beat in the sugar, 1 tbsp at a time until it is all incorporated and you have a gorgeous mound of shiny meringue

– Beat in the vanilla and lemon juice

– Dollop a mound of meringue onto a lined baking sheet, spread into a circle shape with a slight dip in the centre

– Turn down the oven to 120 degrees centigrade and bake for 2 hours or until the meringue safely peels off the baking paper

– Top with the vanilla fromage frais and fruit of choice. Eat straight away!

Vanilla Fromage Frais (dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, can be soya-free, sesame-free, vegetarian and vegan)

• Half a tub of plain dairy-free yogurt
• 2-3 tbsps icing sugar, or to taste
• 1 tsp vanilla

– Line a sieve with a new clean J-cloth, or some cheesecloth

– Pour the yogurt into the lined sieve and place in the fridge for at least a few hours, preferably overnight to drain off the liquid

– Beat the sugar and vanilla into the thickened yogurt, serve