Chefs' Recipes

Spice Temple's Chinese pavlova

Put a Chinese twist on this classic dessert, thanks to Melbourne's Spice Temple.

  • 1 hr preparation
  • 30 mins cooking (plus cooling, freezing)
  • Serves 8
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Chinese pavlova
"I'm loving the Chinese pavlova dessert at Spice Temple in Melbourne. Could you please ask for the recipe? I'd love to replicate this at home."
Thao Le, Carnegie, Vic
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Ingredients

  • 2 bananas, sliced
  • Pulp from 2 passionfruit
  • Vanilla pashmak (Persian fairy floss), to serve
Panna cotta
  • 250 ml pouring cream (1 cup)
  • 250 ml milk (1 cup)
  • 1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
  • 85 gm caster sugar
  • 2 titanium-strength gelatine leaves, softened in cold water for 5 minutes
  • 220 gm crème fraîche (see note)
Passionfruit ice-cream
  • 225 ml passionfruit juice (see note)
  • 150 gm caster sugar
  • 150 gm egg yolks (about 8)
  • 450 ml pouring cream
Meringue roll
  • 90 gm eggwhite (about 3)
  • 180 gm caster sugar
  • 1 tsp cornflour
  • ¼ tsp white vinegar
  • ¼ tsp Sichuan pepper, toasted, ground, sieved
  • 1 tbsp condensed milk

Method

Main
  • 1
    For panna cotta, bring cream, milk, vanilla bean and seeds and half the sugar to the boil in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in remaining sugar to dissolve. Squeeze excess water from gelatine, add to cream mixture, stir to dissolve and strain through a fine sieve into a bowl placed over ice. Stir occasionally until cool but not quite setting (5-7 minutes). Gradually fold into crème fraîche until smooth, then continue stirring over ice until starting to set and vanilla seeds stay suspended (5-7 minutes), being careful not to let it set completely. Remove bean and pour mixture into serving bowls or glasses and chill until set (30-40 minutes). Cover and refrigerate until required.
  • 2
    For passionfruit ice-cream, whisk passionfruit, sugar and yolks in a heatproof bowl over gently simmering water until thick and pale (5-7 minutes). Cool over a bowl of iced water (5-6 minutes). Whisk in cream and churn in an ice-cream machine, then freeze until firm (3-4 hours). Makes about 1 litre and will keep for 2 weeks.
  • 3
    For meringue roll, preheat oven to 150C. Mark a 20cm x 30cm rectangle on a sheet of baking paper. Lightly oil an oven tray, turn paper over and press onto tray. Whisk eggwhite in an electric mixer to soft peaks (1-2 minutes), then gradually add sugar, whisking until firm peaks form (8-10 minutes). Fold in cornflour, vinegar and Sichuan pepper and spread mixture evenly inside rectangle template. Reduce oven to 120C and bake until meringue forms a crust (18-20 minutes). Cool for 20-30 minutes, then turn out onto a clean, dry tea towel, drizzle lightly with condensed milk and spread with a spatula. From a long side, use the tea towel to roll meringue into a cylinder. Cut into 8 pieces. Place each on a serving of panna cotta, top with passionfruit ice-cream, banana slices, passionfruit pulp and pashmak, and serve.

Notes

At Spice Temple the kitchen uses d'Isigny crème fraîche, available from select delicatessens. For passionfruit juice, process the pulp of about
22 passionfruit in a food processor, then push the pulp through a strainer to remove seeds, scraping to gather as much seedless pulp as possible.