FRESH BERRY PAVLOVAS

Fresh Berry Pavlovas

Welcome to our hot and sunny summer!  Are you as ready for these lazy days of summer as I am?  Before it gets too hot and tropical, I wanted to whip up a batch of these family-favorites - Fresh Berry Pavlovas!  With the red, white and blue, these are just perfect for all of our patriotic summer holidays - Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day! 

These are so pretty that you'd think they are hard to prepare - but you can do everything ahead of time, on your own lazy schedule, and then just pull it all together for a fabulous surprise!  Fresh, fancy and fun! 

Fresh Fruit Pavlovas

Well worth the little bit of time it takes to make these for a special occasion...or a special person! 

If you're not comfortable with a piping bag and tips, you can use a spoon to dollop up soft little clouds, giving it a gentle swirl with the back of your spoon to make an indentation or little nest.  These will spread just the tiniest little bit when you bake them, so leave a little bit of space between them on your baking sheets. 

With something so simple and special, it is really important to use quality ingredients.  Fresh eggs, at room temperature.  Superfine sugar.  And a trifecta of vanilla perfection - I use Rodelle Vanilla Beans, Rodelle Vanilla Extract, and Rodelle Vanilla Bean Paste for the absolute best vanilla flavor.  Let's face it, the vanilla really shines thru in the meringue shells and in the sweetened whipped cream, and you'll be amazed at the difference a vanilla bean pod & seeds will make in the fresh fruit compote - it just dazzles with fresh flavor!

Start with quality ingredients - it really does make a difference!

Although you can assemble these a day ahead of time, they really do taste the best when they are fresh.  And if it's hot and humid outside, I'd wait to make these - they really absorb any humidity - and while they are just a tad bit "softer", they are still pretty delicious! 

I actually will hide these in the oven after baking if I can - it keeps some of the sneaky fingers from finding and running off with these sweet treats!  If you do decide to make these ahead of time and store them, cover them LIGHTLY with plastic wrap - don't put them in anything airtight or they will get all weepy and sad...and we certainly don't want sad meringues! 

Red, White & Blue Fresh Berry Pavlovas

Clouds of creamy sweet meringue with just the lightest crunch on the outside, stuffed with fresh sweetened whipped cream, fresh berry compote and topped with even more fresh berries...

Summer perfection!  Hope that you enjoy these as much as we do! 

Fresh Berry Pavlovas