Passover is coming, and you know what that means? No oats, grains, beans, rice or leavening agents -- eek! I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a bit of a struggle, but I love any opportunity to get creative in the kitchen (you know that by now, right?).
In the past, I've turned to nut flours and coconut, but was looking for something different on the dessert front this year. Since I won't be making it home for the holidays, I knew that I'd be missing my Oma's crispy meringues and strawberry ice cream, so I decided to take a stab at an alternative -- light and fluffy pavlova, doused in juicy roasted berries. YUM.
PASSOVER PAVLOVA WITH MAPLE ROASTED STRAWBERRIES // serves a crowd
I skipper the typical cream layer, trying to keep the recipe kosher (/dairy free). If you're not concerned with that kind of thing, feel free to add a substantial layout of whipped cream between the pavlova and the berries. Also, this dessert is SWEET -- consider yourself warned when the sugar rush hits ;) Adapted from Happyolks.
Preheat oven to 200. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
Ingredients:
4 egg whites, room temperature
1 cup caster sugar*
2 tsp potato starch
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 batch maple roasted strawberries
* Caster sugar is a super fine white sugar. If you can't find it, simply whizz white sugar in a food processor (or bullet) until fine.
What to do:
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks begin to form (2-5 minutes). When peaks are firm and ready, you should be able to tilt the bowl without any of the contents moving.
Slowly fold in the sugar, potato starch and vanilla using a rubber spatula.
Pile, and slightly flatten, the mixture onto your prepared baking sheet, and bake for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let cool.
Once cooled completely, top with the warm, juicy strawberries and serve immediately.