Red, White & Blue - Summer Berry Pavlova

We are out of the World Cup *sniff* but still have Andy Murray in the tournament at Wimbledon. I went last week and saw Rafael Nadal playing Kei Nishikori on centre court. The tennis wasn't the best, but the atmosphere, excitement and sunshine made up for it!


Vanilla pods

I made a red, white and blue summer pavlova at the weekend, full of berries from the farmers' market, which are at their best right now and perfect for the heatwave. I flavoured the cream with vanilla seeds, which were scraped from beautiful fat pods, given to me by Deeba from Passionate About Baking when she came to London last November.



Summer Berry Pavlova
Adapted from The Best of Sainsbury's Desserts

Makes one large or 6 mini pavlovas

4 large egg whites
250g/8oz caster sugar
1 tablespoon cornflour
2 teaspoons vinegar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the filling:
300ml/10fl oz double cream
Summer fruits of your choice - sliced if wanted

Using a clean, large bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff.

Add the sugar, a tablespoon at a time, whisking until the meringue is very stiff.

Whisk in the cornflour, vinegar and the vanilla extract.

To make a large pavlova, pile the meringue onto a baking sheet that has been lined with non-stick baking parchment and spread into 23cm/9" round. Hollow out the centre slightly with a spoon.
For mini pavlovas, pile or pipe 6 small circles of meringue onto a lined baking sheet, making a dent in the middle of them.

Bake the meringue in a pre-heated oven 15oºC/300ºF/Gas Mark 2, for about 1½ hours. Cool, remove the baking parchment and place onto a serving dish.

Whip the cream and fold in some of the fruit before spooning onto the meringue base. Decorate with the remaining fruit.

Printable Recipe



Rafael Nadal serving to win the match


Being nosey - a quiet royal box, last year's was far more interesting as we went on 'Sporting Saturday'


Even the flowers are colour co-ordinated

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