Biting into a perfectly ripe peach is one of my summer highlights, and I wait all year for that first good one. Once they are here, I can’t get enough and often enjoy them sliced as they are or sat hunched over in the garden with the juice running down my arm to my elbow (totally worth it). When I get a good batch, I roast them – they look like pretty sweets, and I especially enjoy peeling off the skin when it’s wrinkling at the sides. Peaches and pavlovas are a gorgeous match, and a constant classic. Make this for friends or for a picnic spread, and keep extra peaches for later, so you can eat them in the sun.
Mini peach pavlovas
Prep 5 min
Cook 2 hr
Makes 6
150g egg whites
1 tbsp lemon juice
250g caster sugar
2 tbsp cornflour
For the peaches
3 large peaches
3 tbsp runny honey
2 sprigs thyme
For the cream
300ml double cream
A pinch of sea salt
1 tbsp icing sugar
Heat the oven to 180C (160 fan)/350F/gas 4 . Cut the peaches in half, remove the stones, and put the fruit skin side up in a roasting tray. Drizzle over the honey and thyme, and toss to coat. Roast for 15-18 minutes, until soft but not mushy, and the skins have blistered slightly and wrinkled at the edges. Remove and leave to cool, then peel off and discard the skins.
Turn down the oven to 120C (100C fan)/250F/gas ½. In a large, clean bowl with an electric whisk, or in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites and lemon juice on a medium speed until they turn frothy and thick. Add the caster sugar in three equal instalments, whisking well between each addition, then keep beating until the mixture is thick and meringue-like. Add the cornflour and whisk briefly to incorporate.
Line two flat baking trays with greaseproof paper, then take two large tablespoons to shape the meringues – it helps to dip them in hot water briefly first. Shape six large tablespoons of the pavlova mix on to the tray, using the spoons to guide their shape. I like to make an indent in the middle of each one with the back of the hot spoon, so the filling will sit nicely inside it later. Bake for one and a half hours, until the meringues lift off the paper without much resistance – they should be dry to touch. Turn off the oven and leave the meringues inside it until completely cool – once you can lift them off the paper, take them out of the oven.
Lightly whip the cream with the salt and sugar until it holds its shape. Top each meringue with some cream and roasted peaches, along with a bit of the peach syrup, and serve.
