Strawberry Fool Pavlova Cake. An indulgent but surprisingly light combination of sponge cake, meringues, whipped cream, berries & roasted strawberry jam.
Strawberry Fool Pavlova Cake
After the success of last week’s Roasted Strawberry Jam, it immediately started me thinking. I tried to think of ideas to incorporate this intensely flavoured, concentrated strawberry confection into a terrific dessert.
My first thought was to use it in a simple whipped cream “fool” by just folding it into some vanilla whipped cream. This worked extremely well.
Then, I considered, if that worked, an “Eaton Mess” with pieces of meringue Pavlova would be even better. At that point, I paused and thought, “Maybe that’s an idea for a dessert cake.”
A homemade vanilla sponge cake was my choice to tie all these components together and it came together spectacularly. It is an indulgence to be sure, but because of the lightness of the sponge cake it is less so.
Also, using the fruity whipped cream fool instead of a sugary frosting, this decadent dessert does not come off as heavy at all.
I shared this one with my office co-workers to rave reviews and it would make a terrific celebration cake or spectacular dinner party dessert.
Roasted Strawberry Jam
Find our recipe for Roasted Strawberry Jam by clicking here.
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Strawberry Fool Pavlova Cake
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Strawberry Fool Pavlova Cake
An indulgent but surprisingly light combination of sponge cake, meringue pavlova, whipped cream, berries and roasted strawberry jam.
Ingredients
For the Sponge Cake
- 1 1/2 cup flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 9 eggs separated, room temperature
- 1/4 tsp cream of tarter
- 1 1/2 cups sugar, separated in 2 portions of 3/4 cup
- 3 tsp vanilla extract
For the Pavlova layers
- 4 large egg whites, at room temperature
- 1 cup fine granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 tbsp corn starch
- 1 tsp white vinegar
For the Strawberry Fool
- 3 cups whipping cream
- 4 rounded tablespoons powdered sugar, icing sugar
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup roasted strawberry jam, or your favorite good quality jam
Instructions
For the Sponge Cake
- Line the bottoms of three 8 or 9 inch cake pans with parchment paper.
- Sift together the flour and baking powder and set aside.
- Beat egg whites and cream of tarter until foamy. Add 3/4 cup sugar gradually until egg whites are stiff.
- Beat egg yolks and 3/4 cup sugar until foamy and thickened.
- Fold beaten egg yolks into the beaten egg whites along with the vanilla for only a few turns before slowly and gradually folding in the flour and baking powder mixture very gently BY HAND using a rubber spatula until just incorporated into the meringue mixture. I mix in the dry ingredients in 3 equal portions. Do not over mix, you just want the flour to be incorporated; over mixing will deflate the egg whites and result in a tough textured final product.
- Pour into 3 un-greased 8 or 9 inch round cake pans with the bottoms lined with parchment paper and bake at 325 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until center springs back when touched. Cool completely in the pans before running a sharp knife around the edge to release the cakes from the pans and then remove the parchment paper from the bottoms.
For the Pavlova layers
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
- Whip the egg whites and vanilla to soft peaks and gradually add the sugar slowly, whipping until the sugar is completely dissolved. Pinch the meringue between your fingertips to feel that all of the sugar granules have completely dissolved.
- Sift the corn starch through a fine sieve and sprinkle over the meringue mixture and fold in until completely incorporated along with the vinegar. This step helps a crisp crust to form on the meringue.
- Drop the meringue in two halves onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet and spread it out into two 9 inch circles. I use the cake pans to outline the exact size on the parchment paper with a pencil, then flip the paper over on the baking sheet. Be sure to keep the meringue about a 1/4 inch inside the line to allow a little room for expansion as the pavlova bakes.
- Bake for about 1 hour or until small cracks appear in the meringue and it is slightly golden brown. Turn off the oven, leave the door ajar and allow the meringues to cool completely in the oven.
For the Strawberry Fool
- Whip the whipping cream,icing sugar and vanilla extract to firm peaks.
- Gently fold in the strawberry jam by hand using a rubber spatula. There is no need to fully fold in the jam. Leaving streaks of jam ribboned through the whipped cream is desirable.
To construct the cake
- Place the first layer on the serving plate. Cover with a thin layer of strawberry fool.
- Add one of the pavlova layers topped with a second thin layer of fool.
- Repeat this process with the second cake layer and second pavlova layer before adding the final sponge cake layer on top.
- Top the final layer of cake with the remaining Strawberry fool and garnish with fresh strawberries and additional roasted strawberry jam if desired.
- Chill the cake for at least an hour before cutting and serving.
Nutrition Information
Yield
16Serving Size
1 sliceAmount Per Serving Calories 411Total Fat 19gSaturated Fat 11gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 6gCholesterol 155mgSodium 113mgCarbohydrates 54gFiber 0gSugar 43gProtein 7g
The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only. Exact accuracy is not guaranteed. For recipes where all ingredients may not be used entirely, such as those with coatings on meats, or with sauces or dressings for example, calorie & nutritional values per serving will likely be somewhat lower than indicated.