Pavlova with Dried Fruits

Before starting this Pavlova with Dried Fruits recipe, make sure you have organised all the necessary ingredients.

For the Swiss meringue: Pour the egg whites in the stand mixer bowl.

Add the castor sugar.

Combine with a whisk to incorporate the castor sugar.

Place the recipient over a bain-marie prepared in a saucepan.

Whisk the preparation until hot. When touching the preparation with the tip of your finger, you should feel a stinging sensation due to the heat. Watch the intensity of the heat, as it could cause the egg whites to coagulate.

Place the recipient in the food mixer and beat...

... until you obtain a meringue. Continue beating until the meringue is cold. The Swiss meringue is now ready.

Scoop some meringue into a piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle (diameter 12mm).

On a Silpat baking sheet (40 x 30cm), pipe the meringue into a spiral, working from the centre outwards.

The disk should have a diameter of 26-28cm.

On the edge of the meringue disk, pipe one circle of meringue.

Pipe a second circle on top of the first one. Then pipe a third one, in order to obtain a sort of shallow basket.

Using a palette knife, smooth the outer surface of the edge.

Scoop some meringue into another piping bag, fitted with a fluted nozzle (17mm diameter), and pipe S-shapes decorations...

... next to each other.

The final result should be similar to what is shown in the photo.

Bake at 100°C (gas 1/4) for at least 3 hours, on a Silichef perforated baking sheet. Ideally, the meringue should be prepared the day before. When cooked, turn the oven off and leave the meringue overnight to cool in the oven.

For the mascarpone chantilly cream: Before making the mascarpone chantilly cream, make sure you have organised all the necessary ingredients.

Soak the gelatine sheets in a bowl filled with cold water.

In a saucepan, place 100 grams of whipping cream, castor sugar and seeds from the vanilla pod (scraped with the tip of a knife beforehand).

Combine with a whisk and bring to a boil.

When the gelatine sheets are soft, take them out and drain.

When the cream starts boiling...

... add the soft gelatine sheets.

Gently whisk until the gelatine is completely dissolved. Set aside.

Combine the mascarpone with 200 grams of whipping cream.

Combine well with a whisk.

Add the cream and gelatine preparation.

Mix using a hand mixer.

Cover the bowl with cling film.

Refrigerate overnight.

For the dehydrated fruits: Any kind of fruit can be dehydrated. We're going to start with pineapple. Cut it into thin slices, about 2 or 3mm thick.

Remove the woody core with an Exoglass round plain cutter.

Using a cutter with appropriate dimensions, remove the thick skin.

Using a Japanese mandoline, slice the strawberries to a thickness of 3-4mm.

Place the fruit slices on a food dehydrator tray.

Continue with other fruits. I also sliced apples and pears with the mandoline...

... and placed them on the food dehydrator trays. Apple slices on the left, pear slices on the right.

Continue with kiwi fruit and apricots. Make sure you peel the kiwi fruits first.

Stack the trays on top of each other. You can stack up to 5 trays. Set the appliance for 3 hours at medium power (number 2).

Shown in the photos are the dehydrated pineapple slices...

... which maintained their original shape.

Here are the dehydrated slices of peach...
(Any kind of fruit can be dehydrated. Depending on their water content, some will take longer than others to dry.)

... and the strawberries.
(Make sure you don't over-dehydrate the fruits. An excessive caramelization could give a bitter taste to the fruits.)

The following day: Pour the cream (it should be slightly jellified) into the stand mixer recipient.

Beat on high speed for a few minutes...

... until you obtain the desired consistency.

The day you are serving the cake, fill the bottom with mascarpone Chantilly cream.

Even the surface. Do not fill completely up to the top.

Cut the fresh fruits. Preferably, the same selection of fruits should be used.

Arrange them on top the chantilly cream, digging them a little.

Using a piping bag fitted with a Saint-Honoré nozzle (Ø 14mm), pipe U-shaped decorations on top of the meringue circle.

Pipe the remaining Chantilly cream over the fresh fruits...

... and even the surface with a cranked spatula, taking precautions not to damage the edge.

Along the edge, arrange fresh raspberries in a row.

In the centre, arrange the dehydrated fruits, starting with apple slices placed vertically.

Arrange the other dried fruits...

... creating a harmonious decoration. Reserve in the fridge until ready to serve. Enjoy!