28 | 52 Berry Pavlova

When my mother requested 'something with fruit and meringue' for her birthday cake, she was probably thinking more in the direction of the Redcurrant Meringue Pie I made for her birthday last year (and which was delicious).

But of course I wanted to try something new.

I've seen so many Pavlova recipes over the last couple of years but never made one.

BIG MISTAKE, as I know now.

If you like meringue (and berries, in this case) then this is for you. It's the perfect summer dessert.
And it was a big hit with my mom (and me) :)

Oh, and it looks real pretty, too.

Berry Pavlova

From Morrisons Magazine

For the meringue

4 egg whites

250 g (1 1/4 cups) caster sugar

1 teaspoon white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon cornflour

For the topping

250 g (9 oz) fresh raspberries and blueberries

1 tablespoon icing sugar

200 ml (3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons) double cream

150 g (5.3 oz) Greek yogurt

• Preheat the oven to 150ºC (300ºF). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 
• Whisk egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Continue to beat and add the sugar slowly. Add vinegar and cornflour. Spoon the mixture onto the parchment paper, forming a circle (or 2 smaller circles). Make the sides slightly higher than the middle of the circle. 
• Bake for 1 hour, turn off the oven and leave the meringue inside until it has completely cooled down (2-3 hours).  
• To prepare the topping, press some of your raspberries through a fine sieve with the back of a spoon. Throw away the seeds and mix the juice with the icing sugar. In a separate bowl, whip the cream until stiff and fold in the yogurt. 
• Just before serving, spoon the cream-yogurt-mix on top of the meringue, drizzle the raspberry juice over it and top with fresh berries.

My modifications:

None. Other than using raspberries and blueberries (not just raspberries).

The taste:

Heavenly. Really. So light and yet so so good. Perfect for summer. You might not be able to stop eating it.

What is your favorite way of eating meringues?

18*52 Raspberry-Chocolate-Peanut Butter-Cookies

There's some real talk in order this week. It's about cookies. Ugly cookies.

How do you handle them? I'm serious - you will need to think about this before baking these cookies. Because they are ugly. But only from the outside.

After the first bite you will be completely hooked, despite their ugliness. They're irresistible.

So - without wanting to sound philosophical here - treat them well.
It's not their fault that they're ugly. Only judge what's inside. You get the idea...

Raspberry-Chocolate-Peanut Butter-Cookies

Adapted from Rumbly In My Tumbly

114 g (1 stick) butter, room temperature

65 g (1/2 cup) brown sugar

1 egg + 1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla

60 g (1/4 cup) sour cream

390 g (2 1/2 cups) flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/4 teaspoon salt

50 g (1/3 cup) chocolate chips

50 g (1/3 cup) peanut butter chips 

100 g (1 1/2 cups) raspberries

• Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). 
• Mix butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla. Add sour cream and combine well. 
• Fold in dry ingredients until just combined. Add chocolate and peanut butter chips. 
• Carefully add raspberries - don't mix them in too much because you will do that with your hands when forming the cookies anyway.
• Using your hands, form balls (about the size of a golf ball), put them on your prepared cookie sheet and flatten a bit (they won't 'run' but stay the size and height you made).
• Bake for 10-15 minutes.

 no, they're not pretty to make either...

My modifications:

I replaced white chocolate chips with peanut butter chips.

I used fresh raspberries instead of raspberry jam.

The taste:

Oh. My. As I said - ugly but divine. And definitely best on the day you bake them. Very dangerous if you're by yourself. And you haven't told anyone that you're making these. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Is there any food that does not look good but tastes heavenly? Let us know which one comes to your mind.