Category: Sweet tooth

Lemon Gingerbread cookies

Recipes, Sweet tooth

 

‘Lemon gingerbread cookies on the night before Christmas’

Since we still have our Christmas tree up, is it ok to bake gingerbread cookies? For the first time this year ( I have no idea why I have not before) made my own gingerbread cookie dough. It literally was the easiest thing ever and I added some lemon zest to add a bit of zing, and it was an addition I will be adding every year. I also like that when you make your own dough, you can make just a small batch as I prefer baking only 1 baking tray full of cookies. I also dipped the finished cookies into melted daim- chocolate, which added that special taste to them. I baked these cookies the day before Christmas Eve and I loved how it made the kitchen smell of sweet festive spices. That day we took a forrest walk with our little family and had some hot glögi and cookies with us to get into the spirit of the following day. I wanted to write this recipe down more for myself, as I will be making this every year as a little new tradition of ours. I can’t wait to bake these cookies with our little boy once he is old enough.

Ingredients ( 1 baking tray)

  • 1/2 dl syrup
  • 1/2 dl sugar
  • 75g butter
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon ground Cardamom
  • 1 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 teaspoon gingerbread spice
  • 1 egg
  • 2-3 dl flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

Directions

Boil the butter, sugar, lemon zest, syrup and spices in a saucepan. Cool the mixture. Add in the egg. Add the flour and baking soda. Mix into an even batter. However, do not over mix the batter as this keeps the cookies crisp. If the batter seems too dry, you can add a little bit more melted butter. Place the batter into the fridge for overnight.

The following day, roll the batter out and use your cookie cutters to create shapes. Make sure to use plenty of flour so it does not stick to your surface. Place the raw cookies onto a parchment paper lined baking tray and bake in 200 Celsius degrees for about 5-8 minutes. Leave to cool on a rack and dip a corner of the cookie into some melted chocolate. I used daim-flavoured chocolate that I melted in a bowl over boiling water. Lastly I dusted the cookies with a coating of icing sugar.

 

Christmas Date Cake

Recipes, Sweet tooth

Dates are the perfect sweet ingredient for a winter kitchen. The natural sweetener makes a great base for cakes, salads, jams, smoothies, sauces, breads and gives that lovely rich intensive caramel taste. I’ve done date coffee-style cakes every winter and since it is only three nights until Christmas, it was about time to make one. The sticky juicy cake was topped with a cream cheese icing and some macarons but the cake is great just on its own. I love to have it with a cup of tea or an espresso as a little pick me during the day. I enjoyed some while wrapping the last of the gifts and organising some last things that we have to do before winding down for the big day.

 

Date cake ingredients

  • 250g dates (pit removed)
  • 2dl sugar
  • 2dl water
  • 200g butter
  • 1 egg
  • 3 1/2dl flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar

cake tin

  • butter
  • bread crumb- flour

toppings

  • 1 cup icing sugar
  • 1/4 cup tablespoons melted butter
  • 1 tablespoon milk
  • 1 tablespoon cream cheese
  • macarons

Directions

Deseed and cut the dates into a saucepan and cook on medium heat . Add the sugar and water. Let the dates cook until soft and mushy for about 10 minutes. Add in the butter and allow to melt into the dates.

Allow the dates to cool a little and add in the egg. Add in the dry ingredients. Butter and flour the cake tin, then pour the date mixture into the cake tin. Place the cake tin into the oven ( 175 degrees Celsius) onto the lower level for 45 minutes. Check that the cake is ready by pressing a tooth pick into the mixture, if it comes out dry, it is ready. However, do not overcook the mixture and allow it to cool before tipping it over onto a cooling rack.

To make the icing, melt some butter and mix in with the icing sugar. Mix in some cream cheese and a splash of milk. Pour the frosting over the date cake and garnish with macarons. If the consistency seems too dry, add more milk or butter and if the consistency seems too wet, add more sugar.

Pour the icing over the cooled date cake and garnish with a few macarons. Sieve on some icing sugar.

Christmas Pomegranate Pavlova

life, Recipes, Sweet tooth

‘cosy candlelight mornings & early hour baking of a Pomegranate Pavlova’ 

A traditional pavlova really sets the mood during Christmas time, so I decided to whip one up for this Sunday. For the past few weeks my hubby and I have been had a nasty stomach bug, which has drained our energy to the maximum with a baby under one month, but now we are both feeling much better. It means it is time to get back into the holiday spirit as it is only a few weeks until Christmas Eve. My hyacinths are starting to bloom in the kitchen, our little baby has grown 3cm since our last checkup and I’ve made one wreath from pines and white berries. The tree is still as beautiful as ever and we have managed to watch one Christmas movie thus far. I started whipping up the egg whites before 7am while the baby was sleeping and managed to snap a few photos even though it was really dark outside still. I find baking early morning such a pleasant activity, I enjoy a freshly brewed coffee with a little bit of me time (so rare lately) and appreciate all the little Christmas ornaments around the house. When the pavlova was set in the oven, our little elf woke up as well and after a nursing session my boys enjoyed a slow morning in bed with some cuddles. My brother and his wife bought the little one a cutest elf hat from a countryside village that was just the cutest visual ever. The weather is miserable today, foggy, slippery and dark so it’s time to cosy up indoors with some candle light.

In this elegant dessert, a crisp thin layered meringue layer is filled with homemade pomegranate sauce, greek yogurt and toasted almonds. The greek yogurt may not be a traditional topping for a pavlova, but trust me, the tanginess works against the sweetness of the meringue. To keep the meringue from being flat and grainy, try beating egg whites until stiff but not dry. Over-beaten eggs easily lose volume when folded with other ingredients. Also, when adding in the sugar, add it one tablespoon at a time mixing well continuously. Then, you beat the meringue until thin and glossy that is easily shipped into a dome on your parchment paper that is placed into the oven. A pavlova cooks for about an hour and takes about 2 hours in total to make even though it is not much work.

Ingredients for pavlova

  • 4 egg whites
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 1/2 cup greek yogurt (topping)
  • handful of almond flakes (topping)

Pomegranate Sauce

  • 1 pomegranate
  • 3 tablespoons blackcurrant jam
  • 1-2 teaspoon sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 140 degrees celcius. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. In a large bowl, add in the egg whites. Beat them with an electric whisk until stiff, but not dry. Gradually add in the sugar, beating well after each addition. Beat until thick and glossy. Fold in the vanilla extract, cornstarch and lemon juice.

Spoon the mixture onto your parchment paper. With this quantity, you make two smaller ones or one large one. I made two smaller ones, shaped like a dome. Bake for 1 hour and cool on a wire rack.

 

To make the toppings: 

Sauté some almond flakes on a dry pan with a pinch of salt. Cook until slightly golden and remove to the side to cool.

To make the pomegranate sauce, deseed 1 pomegranate and keep the juices. Place this into a small saucepan and cook on medium-heat. Add a teaspoon of sugar and 3 tablespoons of blackcurrant jam. Cook gently for about 10 minutes until everything has incorporated. Remove to the side to cool.

Once the meringue has cooled. Add some greek yogurt on top, some pomegranate sauce and a topping of the almond flakes. Do not be alarmed if the dome cracks, it usually does as the toppings are much heavier.

 

Berry Pancakes

In the Morning, Recipes, Sweet tooth

Pancakes, the easy and quick treat if you have a mild sweet tooth. We never eat pancakes for breakfast, most Scandinavians do not, as we prefer savory over sweet. But as the balcony season has come to an end, we decided to enjoy some berry infused pancakes with the last heatwave of summer. Now, our entire balcony is under construction for maintenance work and will be able to use again, after the new year.  Due to this, I tried to use the balcony during spring and summer as much as possible to maximize spending time amongst my beautiful flowers as now the time for it has come to an end.

Everybody knows a basic recipe for pancakes, so I will not share that with you, but what I will share is the way to elevate them into something better. First of all, whip some cream with a bit of vanilla sugar to form soft peaks. Then grate some lemon zest into it and add a teaspoon of lemon juice to freshen up the flavor. Also, make some homemade strawberry compote. Basically, in a small pot add some roughly chopped strawberries and bring to a boil. They release liquid from them as they heat up and the point is to reduce the liquid and thicken it. Add a bit sugar (or honey) if you prefer it sweeter and let it gently simmer into a mush-like consistency for about 10-15 minutes. You can press the strawberries with the help of a fork to get the ideal texture for you. Remove to the side to cool.

Once the pancakes are ready and slightly cooled, add some whipped cream inside along with black and blue berries. Roll it up and repeat the process. Plate it with a generous scoop of strawberry compote along with some extra berries. Garnish with mint if you please. This infuses the pancakes with delicious sweet but fresh flavors giving it far more excitement that your basic pancakes with syrup. It not only tastes like the memory of sweet summer, but the lightness of it all makes it the perfect sweet tooth craving without being too heavy.

 

 

Autumn Sauna & Apple pie

life, Recipes, Sweet tooth

The end of August brings apple season as summer slowly begins coming to an end. The heatwaves have ended and it’s been raining exceptionally much for August and it feels like autumn is slowly making its way into the horizon. The air feels a tad crisper in the morning and at 9pm, the sky gets dark, which means our beautiful endless white nights are in the past.

We took another trip to the summer place but this time around we didn’t swim as much, but we enjoyed the warmth of the sauna almost on a daily basis. Once again, I let nature inspire me, picked fresh apples from the trees, ate outside as much as possible and enjoyed the last of the summer days.

I made apple pie one day as I couldn’t resist on picking some fresh apples from the trees. I didn’t scout for any recipes and just went with the ingredient’s what we had at the cottage, and honestly everyone seemed to like it a lot. The filling is really moist as it is made from quark with chocolate wafers inside, so it is nothing like a traditional apple pie. I dressed a little iron table with flowers and candles that I had my husband carry down to the lake. I took some lovely images of it and after all the pictures, had my parents come down to eat the remaining of the pie. Everyone loved it, including Siena. Ps. I am officially in the third trimester already and tomorrow I enter week 29 already.

 

Ingredients

  • 2 whole small apples, washed
  • 1 packet of vanilla flavored quark (about 250g)
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons brown sugar
  • 2-3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 teaspoon of melted butter
  • 1 egg
  • A few chocolate wafers or chocolate pieces

 

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius

In a bowl, mix together the quark, the cinnamon, sugar, salt and flour. Then add in the egg and melted butter. Take your little cake tin and line it with parchment paper.  Place the two little apples in the center and pour the batter on the sides. I wanted to leave a little of the apples showing from the surface as this is visually rather appealing. Press the wafers into the batter. Brush the apple surfaces and stalks with a little bit of the melted butter so they do not burn in the oven and lastly, add a pinch of brown sugar on top. Place into the oven for about 30minutes until the batter is cooked throughout.

I served the pie with more vanilla quark and freshly picked blueberries from the ground.

 

 

Easy Thin Crust Berry Pie

Recipes, Sweet tooth

Today we are leaving back to the summer place for a little bit of countryside time, but before leaving I wanted to share this easy and quick pie recipe. I love how this berry pie is slightly bitter from the berries with a small hint of sweetness from the edges of the crust. You can alter the sweetness to your liking if your berries are too sour, but I personally prefer to keep the berries as natural as possible. Once you learn to make this crust recipe, you can use it to make savory (see here) or sweet pies. It is one of those staple recipes to know as it bends in so many directions. Since we are right in the center of berry season, I wanted to share this really easy berry pie with you. The key is to roll out your dough as thin as possible, to get a lovely thin crispy surface for it. Then all you do is add berries on top with a little bit of syrup and place it into a hot oven.

Butter crust

  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • Pinch of salt
  • 6 Tbsp cold unsalted butter cut in cubes
  • About 4 Tbsp cold water
  • 1 Tbsp unsalted butter melted (for brushing)
  • For a sweet version, add 1 tsp sugar

Butter crust Directions

To make the butter crust, add the flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to combine. Add the cold cubed butter and pulse about 20-30 times, until the butter is incorporated and the mixture is crumbly. Drizzling in the cold water while pulsing again until a dough is formed. If the mixture looks too dry, add a little more water. Turn out onto a floured surface and form it into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least an hour. This process can be done a day in advance as well.

Roll out the dough on a floured surface of parchment paper as thin as possible. Place an upside-down bowl on top of the dough and trace the edges of the bowl with a knife to get a circle shape. Lift the parchment paper on an oven tray. In the center of the dough circle, add a handful of berries of choice. I used strawberry, blackberry and blueberry. Add a little drizzle of syrup on top of them. Then fold the edges of the pie inwards to create a little wall around the berries. Brush the sides with either egg yolk or melted melted butter and sprinkle a little bit of brown sugar on top of the edges.

Place into a hot oven (200 C) for about 20 minutes until golden on the edges and gooey in the middle. Before serving allow, the pie to cool a little, sprinkle icing sugar on top and coconut flakes.

 

Easy Rhubarb Pie

Recipes, Sweet tooth

July is here and the forecast is still sunny and hot on a daily basis. We haven’t had rain in a really long time and the sun is really loving us this summer. We have been boating quite a lot the past few weeks, jumping into the water and eating snacks until the sun umbrella. I wanted to share this quick and easy rhubarb pie recipe that I tested a few weeks ago. I loved how moist the pie ended up being and the flavor of the almond flour in the background. We served the pie with lemon flavored quark which gave a wonderfully tangy taste to the pie. The celebratory pie was in honor of finding out the gender of our baby, so we shared a lovely little moment together on the balcony. I enjoyed the pie with lemon lavender tea and hubby with some ice coffee. I garnished the pie with little rose buds for visual effect but you can garnish it with seasonal berries or however you please. We are leaving to the summer house tomorrow, which will be a great escape from the city.

 

Honey Rhubarb Pie

  • 170g butter (room temperature)
  • 1kg rhubarb chopped, peeled and diced
  • 200g sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 3 teespoons baking powder
  • 120g almond flour
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla sugar
  • 240g milk
  • 80g honey

Whisk the butter and sugar into a pale froth with a hand-held mixer. One by one, add in the eggs.

Mix all the dry ingredients together. Add in the milk and mix together with the egg sugar batter.

Pour the batter into a parchment paper lined cake tin or a baking tray if you wish for a slim pie. In a bowl, mix the honey and rhubarb dices together and pour evenly into the cake tin with the batter.

Bake in 160 degrees Celsius for 40 minutes. Before serving, allow to cool and serve with vanilla sauce or lemon quark, as we did.

 

Easy Strawberry Rhubard jam Summer cake

Sweet tooth

 

Cake base

  • 200 g oat or oreo cookies (1packet)
  • 70g melted butter

Cake filling

  • 200g heavy cream for whipping
  • 1-2 cups of strawberry flavored quark (1 cup is enough for 16cm Ø cake tin)
  • 2-3 tablespoons of sugar
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • About 5-6 tablespoons of homemade strawberry rhubarb compote/jam (can be store bought)
  • 4 gelatin leaves

Garnish: powder sugar, fresh lilac flowers washed

 

Directions (cake base 16cm Ø )

( The cake is served with homemade lilac honey, but this is something that can be easily left out. If you decided to do this, it needs to be done in at advance. See recipe from here.

Also, the homemade compoté can be made in advance by a week, so this saves time. This recipe takes minutes to make and highly recommend it as rhubarbs are is season right now. However, a store-bought jam/compoté will do fine as well! For the homeamade, see recipe here

The great thing about this cake is that you can make it the night before serving, as it sets overnight in the fridge. )

 

I prefer to use a 16cm Ø for the cake tin as this gives a smaller and taller cake. If you are using a larger base, you may need to add 2 cups of strawberry quark to elevate height. Otherwise, 1 cup is enough for the smaller base.

Place the cookies into a food processor and blend into a sand like consistency. Add in the melted butter. Spread the cookies on the base of your cake tin and refrigerate for 30min.

Place the gelatin leaves in cold water for 10 minutes to soften. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whip the cream and sugar. Then fold in the quark and a few tablespoons of compoté.

In a small saucepan, heat the tablespoon of lemon juie. Squeeze the excess water from the gelatin leaves and place into the lemon juice. Stir until they dissolve. Pour the liquid into the whipped cream mixture.

Take the cake tin away from the refrigerator. Spoon a layer of compote on top of the cookie base so it is covered. Then add the whipped cream mixture on top. Cover the cake tin with clingfilm and refrigerate overnight or at least 5 hours.

The following day, garnish the cake with lilac flowers and a dusting of powdered sugar. I don’t actually eat the fresh flowers of the cake even though they are eatable. However, I did serve it with homemade lilac honey if you want a little addition of summer sweetness.

Kakkupohja

  • 1 paketti (noin 200g) kaura keksejä (voi käyttää myös oreo keksejä)
  • Sulatettua voita 70g

Hienonna keksit monitoimikoneessa. Sekoita joukkoon sulatettu rasva. Levitä seos vuoratun irtopohjavuoan pohjalle. Laita jääkaappiin, sillä aikaa, kun teen kakku massan.

Kakku täyte

  • 200g vispi kermaa (1 purkki)
  • 1-2 purkki valion maku rahkaa (mansikan makuista) 16cm Ø kakkuvuokaan riittää 1 purkki
  • 2-3 ruokalusikallista sokeria
  • 1 ruokalusikallinen sitruunan mehua
  • Noin 5-6 ruokalusikallista omatekoista raparperi mansikka hilloa (Voit käyttää kaupan hilloa, jos et halua tehdä omaa)
  • 4 liivatelehteä

Kakkua voi tarjoilla syreeni hunajan kera, mutta sen osuuden voi hyvin jättää pois. Se pitää tehdä etukäteen niin maut ehtii tekeytyä.

Kakkuun tarkoitettu helppo hillo/compoté voi myös tehdä päiviä ennen kakun tarjoilua, niin säästät aikaa. Hillon voi aina ostaa kaupasta, jos ei itse halua tehdä. Kakussa on myös se hyvä puoli, että tämä kannattaa tehdä edellisenä iltana kun tarjoilet niin liivate asettuu kunnolla ja maut muhivat keskenään jääkaapissa.

Kakku ohje

(kakkuvuoka 16cm Ø ) Itse tykkään käyttää vuuaksi, pienempää ja korkeampaa niin saa kauniin muodon kakkuun.  Vinkki: jos käytät vähän isompaa kakku vuokaa, voi olla että kannattaa lisää toinen purkki makurahkaa kakun täytteeseen niin saat koreutta.

Pane liivatelehdet kylmään veteen pehmenemään noin 10 minuutiksi. Vatkaa kerma ja sokeri vaahdoksi. Isoon kulhoon sekoita yhteen vispattu kerma ja maku rahka. Tässä vaiheessa voit maistaa makeutta, jos se tarvitsee lisää sokeria. Lisää pari ruokalusikallista hilloa.

Kuumenna sitruunan mehu pienessä kattilassa. Purista liivatelehdistä ylimääräinen vesi pois ja laita kuumaan sitruunaveteen. Sekoita kunnes liukenee kokonaan. Kaada liemi kulhoon ja sekoita hyvin kermavaahto/rahka massan kera.

Ota kakkupohja pois jääkaapista. Lusikoi keksipohjan päälle kerros hilloa. Kaada rahkamassa tämän päälle. Peitä foliolla ja laita jääkaappiin yönyli tai vähintään 5 tunniksi.

Seuraavana päivänä, koristele kakku syreeni kukilla ja ripottele päälle tomusokeria. Voit halutessasi tarjoilla omatekoisen syreeni hunajan kanssa.

Omatekoinen raparperi mansikka comoté (see recipe here in english)

  • 2 cups pilkottua raparperia
  • 1 cup mansikoita
  • 1-2 ruokalusikallista sokeria

Kuori ja pilko raparperit & mansikat kattilaan. Lisää sokerit ja kiehauta. Anna kiehua, kunnes neste haihtuu ja massa paksunee. Jäähdytä ja lisää tiivistettyyn purkkiin. Säilyy jääkaapissa viikon.

Syreeni Hunaja (see recipe here, in english)

  • Syreeni kukkia (muista käyttää sellaisia missä ei ole myrkkyä)
  • Rakka Hunajaa

Laita syreeni kukat tiiviiseen lasi purkiin. Kaada päälle hunajaa niin että kukat peittyvät. Laita korkki kiinni ja anna tekeytyä pari päivää pariin viikkoon asti. Kun haluat käyttää hunajaa, kukat voi joko ottaa pois tai jättää ne hunajaan, koska ovat syötäviä. Itse teen aika pienen purkin syreeni hunajaa, koska se on riittoisaa.  Jos haluat eroon kukista: kuumenna hunaja hellästi ja valuta siivilän läpi purkkiin.

Easy Homemade Lilac Honey

In the Morning, Recipes, Sweet tooth

My dream would be to have a garden with some lilac trees, purple and white ones to spread the scent of June. Lilac grows wild and is quite common in Finland that have been around for centuries. You can use this lilac honey as you would with normal honey and you can pick out the flowers or leave them in, as they are eatable. This recipe literally takes 1 minute to make but it needs to sit in the jar for at least 2 days before usage. It can intensify in the jar from 2 days up to 2 weeks, depending on how strong you want the lilac to be.

Lilacs bloom in June and have a few week life spam which makes their aromatic scent that much more endearing, which is why I try to make the best of them.

Lilac honey

  • Lilac flowers washed and dried (make sure to use flowers that do not have chemicals in them)
  • Raw honey

In a sterilized mason jar, add clean lilac flowers. Then add enough honey so the flowers are covered. Seal jar and allow the flowers to infuse for several days up to two weeks. The flowers will eventually rise to the top, so they are easy to spoon out. Another method to remove the flowers is to gently heat the honey and strain through a sieve. You can also leave the petals in.

Recipe in Finnish: Syreeni Hunaja

  • Syreeni kukkia (muista käyttää sellaisia missä ei ole myrkkyä)
  • Raaka Hunajaa

Laita syreeni kukat tiiviiseen lasi purkiin. Kaada päälle hunajaa niin että kukat peittyvät. Laita korkki kiinni ja anna tekeytyä pari päivää pariin viikkoon asti. Kun haluat käyttää hunajaa, kukat voi joko ottaa pois tai jättää hunajaan, koska ovat syötäviä. Itse teen aika pienen purkin syreeni hunajaa, koska se on riittoisaa.  Jos haluat eroon kukista: ne kelluvat pinnalle niin voi lusikoida helposti pois tai kuumenna hunaja hellästi ja valuta siivilän läpi purkkiin.

Serve it with some delicious cake, put on your morning toast or sweeten a cup of tea

Citrus Pavlova & Apple Blossom Season

Recipes, Sweet tooth

 

 

 

‘A weekend filled with blooming apple trees & a beautiful cloud-like citrus pavlova´

Apple Blossom Season is here to bring us joy from its speckles of white delicate flowers that light up the path of May. We took an evening route to our favorite apple orchard that are just bursting into bloom to capture a few memories as we do every year. Last year I was still able to lift Siena in my lap for some pictures but not anymore, she was outgrown in size for that already. Back home for the sake of the weekend, I decided to make a citrus pavlova for dessert. In this tiny elegant dessert, a crisp white meringue layer is filled with lemon infused whipped cream and decorated with little flowers.

I’ve learned that to keep your meringue from being flat, do not overbeat as this loses volume when other ingredients are added to the mixture. The key is to beat the whites stiff but not dry. Also, slowly fold in the sugar rather than dumping it all at a fast rate. Then beat into a thick white glossy mass. Make sure no yolks or grease gets into your whites, as this ruins the pavlova.

Base Ingredients

  • 4 egg whites
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon of lemon juice

Topping Ingredients

  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1-2 teaspoons of lemon juice
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • About 2 tablespoons of sugar

Directions

Preheat the oven to 100 degrees Celsius (200 Fahrenheit) and adjust the rack to the lower part of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. Slowly add in the sugar while continuously beating with an electric whisk. Beat until thick and glossy. Gently fold in the vanilla extract, lemon juice and cornstarch.

Spoon the mixture on the parchment paper and shape into a circle. You can make a larger flatter version or smaller and a taller version. However, keep in mind that if you are making a taller version, it cannot take any heavy filling on top as falls through the lightness of the pavlova.

Ready to bake: Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Once ready turn the oven off and leave in the hot oven (with the door slightly open) and leave in for a remaining hour. It is in this hour that the meringue will dry out completely. Then remove from oven onto a wire rack and allow to cool.

While the meringue is cooling whip the topping: Whip some cream with the sugar. Once stiff, add lemon juice and lemon zest. Once the meringue is cool add the whipped cream on top. To decorate, add a little bit more lemon zest and little flowers on top.