My new favorite dessert can be dressed in any style you choose. It’s like baking a blank slate to add whatever your heart’s desire (or in your fridge and pantry) that day. Meringues are soft, chewy and crispy. Basically it’s like you are biting into a puffy cloud of sweet decadence and it didn’t take you nearly the amount of time to make that it looks like.

This dessert is generally called a pavlova, named after a famous Russian ballerina, but meringue just sounds more whimsical. I created a more rectangular shaped cake, like Jamie Oliver’s design (link below), rather than the traditional round pavlova. The result was a beautiful, rustic, yet fancy looking dessert that I was incredibly proud to stuff in my face.

I made the curd the day before with the intention of using it with pancakes. But, after seeing pavlova after pavlova online I felt it was a sign that I needed to make one of my very own. So go ahead and take this blog post as a sign and make one of your own!

Ingredients for Kiwi Lime Curd

• 6 egg yolks
• 3 ripe kiwis, peeled and rough chopped
• 1/3 cup of fresh squeezed lime juice
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup of coconut oil (or butter)

Ingredients for Meringue

• 6 egg whites
• 1 cup of castor sugar (If you don’t have it, because who does??, you can put your regular sugar into a food processor for a minute until it’s finer.)
• pinch of sea salt
• 1 nectarine, sliced thin
• handful of raspberries
• handful of pistachios, roughly chopped
• 1/2 -1 cup Kiwi Lime Curd

Directions for the Kiwi Lime Curd

Recipe adapted from: Curly Girl Kitchen

In a blender, pulse your kiwi and lime juice until its frothy and juicy.

In the bottom pan of a double boiler (if you don’t have a double boiler, use a pan and a metal bowl that will fit over the top without falling in or touching the bottom) add a couple inches of water and heat until just boiling. In the top pan of a double boiler, add your kiwi and lime , eggs and sugar to the bowl and begin mixing.

This begins your thickening process that can take up to 15 minutes,  stirring often.  Once the mixture is done it will stick to the back of a spoon. Once done, remove from the heat.

Add the coconut oil or butter a spoonful at a time while your curd is still warm, mix well until melted and then add another until it is all gone.

At this point your curd is still very liquid. You can pour it into a glass or metal container and drop it off in the refrigerator for cooling and more thickening. Once it cools, it will be a very curdy consistency.

Directions for the Meringue

Recipe adapted from: Jamie Oliver

Preheat your oven to 300F/150C.

Use the 6 egg whites you have left over and place them in a clean bowl. ( Be sure there was no yolk and no shell otherwise you won’t get a meringue. )  Begin whipping your eggs with a hand or stand mixer until it begins to form nice, white mounds.

As you continue to mix, slowly add in your castor sugar. Then add your pinch of salt.

Crank your mixer up to the highest speed and continue to mix until the eggs are beautifully glossy and smooth. It takes around 5-7 minutes. You can test it by pinching the mixture and if its smooth its ready.

On a baking sheet, lay out a piece of parchment (greaseproof) paper. With a spoon, spread your meringue out in a pretty rectangle making little peaks and valleys.

Bake until it’s slightly crisped on the edges,  chewy in the middle and golden brown in color. It can take about an hour but keep an eye on it. Take it from the oven and let it cool for a few minutes.

Don’t dress the meringue until you are ready to eat it. You can make a day ahead and keep it in the fridge, wrapped up. Then add spoonfuls of kiwi lime curd, raspberries, nectarine and pistachios to the top. Serve!