Recipe: Low fat and luscious strawberry pavlova

When Caroline from Second Hand Shopper told me she and her Dapper Chap were coming to town this weekend, I knew we just had to have them over for dinner.

It was a fantastic evening – as sore heads and the number of empty wine bottles lined up the next morning testified – and lovely to see Caroline after much too long and meet the lovely Dapper. (Who is indeed Dapper. I identified it was them in the taxi outside because I could see the perfect amount of shirt cuff appearing from a jacket sleeve.)

Because it was quite a short notice thing, and I’d been working all day, The Husband and I decided to keep the catering simple.

He cooked one of his signature dishes - a Nigel Slater recipe involving chicken thighs, herbs, white wine, slow frying and much licking of plates. It’s one of our favourites and I was embarrassed to discover we’d served it to Caroline last time she came to stay – enough to tempt me to start keeping an old-fashioned guest book! However, she was kind enough to insist that she’d loved it then, and certainly cleaned her plate!

But for all my insistence on simplicity, I had a new hand mixer to play with. Time to attempt meringues!

Everything needed to be made between me getting home from work at some time after half five, and guest arriving at half seven, so I went for a quick meringue recipe that gave a soft result, rather than drying everything out slowly in the oven overnight, which I’m planning to attempt last time. This meant the meringue did crack when transferred to the serving plate – but who cares, when it’s got stuff piled on top to hide it? It also that it was quite soft – lovely in the context, but I’m going to play at getting harder meringues.

I discovered using yoghurt rather than cream in pavlovas a few weeks ago, after going on Weightwatchers. I was expecting it to be a bit of a compromise – better than no pudding, but not as good as cream. I was wrong – I love the way the sharpness of the yoghurt contrasts with the sweet meringue and fruit.  I love this Total stuff because it’s so creamy and thick, despite being 0% fat. And also, yoghurt doesn’t need whipping – a major bonus if you don’t have a hand mixer, or you’re just washing-up averse!

Serves 4

Two egg whites

110g/4oz caster sugar (I used golden, for a pretty colour and a slightly more complex taste)

Two punnets strawberries or other soft fruit.

Quarter teaspoon cream of tartar (you can omit – it helps the egg whites puff up, though, so is handy)

Extra tbsp for macerating strawberries

One 150g pot Total 0% fat yoghurt

Turn the oven on to 140C (less if fan)

Line a baking tray with baking parchment.

In a large, scrupulously clean bowl (if it’s even slightly greasy it makes it harder to get the eggs to fluff up) whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks when you take the whisk out of the bowl. If you have a hand mixer this takes seconds. If you’re doing it by hand, it will happen eventually.

Arrange on the baking tray in a large circle. (I say arrange. I splodged it and then smoothed it out).

Bake for 45-60 minutes till the outside is crisp, and then leave the oven, turned off with the door open, for half an hour. This can be done ahead.

While the meringue is in the oven, or an hour or two before serving, whichever is later, core and halve the strawberries, sprinkle with a the extra sugar, and leave in a bowl to macerate.

Just before serving, place the meringue CAREFULLY on a serving plate, add yoghurt on top, and then arrange strawberries.