Honey Pavlovas with Lemon Peach Curd
While this dessert is perfect as is, it could easily be modified to be the lemon meringue pie of your dreams!
Lemon and Meringue are the ultimate dessert power couple in my book, and theres just something about meringue that says “next level!” It looks complicated, but I promise its pretty darn easy. Plus a high protein decadent dessert, thats something I can get behind any day!
While I don’t feel like dessert needs a special occasion, I feel like this dessert is perfect for any special occasion where you really want to wow! Like mothers day thats coming up next weekend. I know what Im asking for (and probably also making if we’re being completely honest here)
Typically meringues are made with granulated sugar, but I’ve replaced that with local honey, not only for the blood sugar benefits of choosing a natural sugar over something processed, but I absolutely love the honey flavor notes it provides in this pillowy, marshmallowy application.
I love meringue but always feel like it is so wasteful, so when I was making loads of Swiss Meringue on the regular I got in the habit of saving the yolks for curd, wether or not the customer wanted it as filling, if not I was always happy to have some lemon curd on hand. In this recipe I’ve done a basic lemon curd, plus the addition of some Peach Jam I picked up at the farmers market, made with local in season fruit last spring as well as some local farm fresh eggs and honey—you can’t get much fresher than that!
Ingredients
6 large-ish eggs, separated
3/4 cup honey, divided
1 tsp salt, divided
1/4 cup cornstarch, divided
1 lemon, juiced and zested, divided
1/2 cup Jam or fruit puree (optional)
Equipment
medium sauce pan
medium mixing bowl that fits on top of sauce pan
Mixer with whisk attachment (hand or stand)
Instant read thermometer * not necessary but incredibly helpful
Parchment lined baking tray
Method
Fill saucepan with about 1” of water, situate bowl over the top so it rests just above the water, this is your double boiler and will help provide a gentler cooking on the egg whites so they don’t curdle.
Place the egg whites in the bowl, along with the juice of half a lemon, 1/2 cup honey and 1 tbsp cornstarch. Whisk constantly for 8-12 minutes over med-low heat until the egg whites are tiny bubbles that hold their shape, about 160 degrees.
Transfer to mixer and whisk until soft peaks form.
Scoop out onto parchment lined baking sheet and spread to about a 9” circle with the back of a spatula, make it sort of “nest shaped” with the sides higher than the center. Alternately you can pipe it into single serving size nests about 4” in diameter.
Place it in a 250f oven for about an hour or an hour and a half. It will get golden and more than likely will puff and crack a bit—this is Ok! Its gonna crack when you cut it. Wedge the door of the oven open and leave until it is cool. Preferably over night. Smaller nests will cook faster.
For the curd, place yolks, cornstarch, remaining honey, lemon juice, salt and jam in a mixing bowl over the double boiler. Whisk until thickened and beginning to set.
Remove from double boiler and cover the surface with plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator until cool. Top the meringues and serve!