Recipe: Hazelnut Pavlova with Spiced Roast Fruit and Chai Cream

Looking for a show-stopping dessert for winter? Try this seasonal pavlova recipe from Belgravia restaurant Wild By Tart, headed up by Jemima Jones and Lucy Carr-Ellison.

Recipe: Hazelnut Pavlova with Spiced Roast Fruit and Chai Cream

A triumphant dessert. We love making a pavlova, it is always impressive and it’s so easy to make – and it goes a long way too. The sweet and tart caramelised fruits infused with their warming spices, the nutty meringue and cooling cream is pure happiness. And a damn good alternative to the steaming rich Christmas pudding.

Ingredients

• 1 vanilla bean
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 start anise
• 1 glass of white wine
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• Juice of ½ lemon
• 6 egg whites
• 300g caster sugar
• 100g hazelnuts, toasted and chopped
• 600ml double cream
• 1 tbsp chai tea
• Pistachio, to garnish

A handful of:

• Plums, halved and de stoned
• Figs, halved
• Dried apricots, halved
• Blackberries

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200°C. Poor the wine and the sugar into a small pan and bring to a simmer, slice the vanilla pod in half, scrape out the seeds and add to the wine, along with the pod itself and the lemon juice and simmer for another couple minutes. Place the fruit into an oven proof dish, pour over the wine and place in the oven for about 15 minutes. Take out the oven and leave to cool.
2. Turn the oven down to 120°C. Place the egg whites in a bowl and whisk to soft peaks, very slowly add the sugar – a spoon at a time till all combined and it should be thick with a good shine to it. Add the hazelnuts and carefully fold in with a metal bowl. Line a baking tray with parchment and spoon the meringue onto the tray – we like to make one large one, but you could make smaller ones if you wish. Place in the oven and cook for about 40 mins – you want it to be crisp on the outside yet chewy in the middle.
3. Place the chai tea in a spice grinder or pestle and mortar and grind to a fine powder. Place the cream in a bowl and whisk till it’s beginning to thicken and add the chai powder, taste and add more if necessary. Whisk to soft peaks – don’t over whisk.
4. To assemble place the meringue on your serving platter, spoon over the cream then place the fruit on top and finish with sprinkling over chopped pistachios.