Berry Pavlova with Sorbet

Recently a couple of dear friends stopped by to prepare and eat food that tastes good and is relatively healthy.  I say relatively, because it depends on how you define healthy food. The entire meal included cheesy treats, potatoes and squash with lime, and kale salad. 2 hours later, we all shared Pavlova. An entirely gluten free meal which included grains, vegetables, fruits, protein, fats, and starch. Yes, we included desserts in the picture of a healthy meal. Desserts are fine in small amounts, but I definitely gained weight this week trying out so many different gluten-free junk foods and desserts. So I'm back on my weight watchers plan, keeping my food journal which I didn't keep up with last week. I did plug the Pavlova in, and and for one serving of this minus the sorbet it is only 3 points. Not bad for a dessert! We did have 2 scoops of Roman Rasberry Sorbet on the side. We will be eating this again soon as a nice summer treat.

Anyway, with no further ado, let me share this delicious dessert from the joyofbaking.com:

4 egg whites
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vinegar
1/2 tbsp cornstarch
1 1/2 cups light aresol whipped cream
1/2 cup rasberries
1/2 cup blackberries

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (130 C) and place rack in center of oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and draw a 7 inch circle on the paper.

In a bowl whisk egg whites until they hold soft peaks (medium high with your beater's whisk attachment)
start slowly adding the sugar (a tablespoon at a time) and continue to beat until the meringue holds very stiff peaks. (test ot see if the sugar is fully dissolved, so keep beating until it feels smooth between your fingers) Sprinkle the vigegar and cornstarch over the top of the meringue and fold in with a ruber spatula.

Gently spread the meringue inside the circle drawn on the parchment paper, smoothing the edges, amking sure the edges of the meringue are slightly higher than the center. (You want a slight well in the center of the meringue to place the whipped cream and fruit after it's baked)

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the outside is dray and takes on a very pale cream color. Turn the oven off, leave the door slightly ajar, and let the meringue cool in the oven. When completely cooled, the meringue will feel firm to the touch if gently pressed, but outside will crack a bit, and you will see the inside is still soft and marshmallowy)

The cooled meringue can be made and then stored in a cool dry place in an airtight container for a few days.

Just before serving gently place the meringue on a serving plate. mound soft whipped cream in the center of the meringue. Add berries on top of the whipped cream, and chow down! Serves 6 to 8

Seriously, if you want a dessert, try this. WE ALL LOVED IT!