What’s my most requested dessert, the one that makes grown men moan and women ask to marry me? It’s my Banoffee Pie with Salted Pretzel Crust. This dessert results in seriously weird behaviour, but I know why – it’s freaking delicious. So I thought it make sense to take the best parts of Banoffee – bananas, cream and caramel, and transport it to an entirely new dessert. Pavlova.
These pavlovas are sure to impress your guests and the best part is you can get all the components ready in the lead up and then assemble just before you serve them. In fact, you could even great a simply DIY pavlova bar and get the guests to build the individual pavlovas themselves!
Crunchy white clouds of meringue form the base of these pavlovas, followed by a dollop of lightly whipped cream, slices of banana, a generous drizzle of salted caramel and a final scattering of dark chocolate.
I personally think the messier the better when it comes to making these desserts – you can even get the kids involved to help out (although let’s be honest, they might spend most of the time licking the cream and caramel off their fingers).
You can make the meringues ahead of time as long as you store them in an airtight container, but just make sure you spoon the whipped cream in right before serving – no one wants a soggy meringue!
Ingredients
Meringue Nests
- 4 egg whites room temp
- 1 cup caster sugar
- 3 tsps cornflour/cornstarch
- 1 tsp white vinegar
To Decorate
- 250 ml thickened cream
- 2 large bananas
- ½ jar of dulce de leche
- Shaved chocolate to garnish
Instructions
Meringue Nests
- Preheat oven to 150°C and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites until soft peaks form.
- Gradually add the sugar, beating well until the mixture is glossy and the sugar has dissolved.
- Add the cornflour and vinegar and fold through.
- Transfer mixture to piping bag with a nozzle attached and pipe round nest shapes around 10cm in diameter onto the parchment paper.
- Place in the oven, reduce the heat to 120°C and cook for 20 minutes.
- Then turn the oven off and allow the meringues to completely cool in the oven.
To Decorate
- Using an electric mixer, beat cream until soft peaks form.
- Top each pavlova with whipped cream, a few slices of bananas and a tablespoon of dulce de leche. You may need to slightly warm the caramel in the microwave for 10 seconds so it's runny.
- Decorate with shaved dark chocolate.
I used dulce de leche for the caramel component as I had some leftover in the fridge, but it’s also really easy to make your own homemade salted caramel sauce!
What’s your favourite twist on a traditional dessert?
4 Comments
Love this hybrid dessert, Swah! Banoffee is such a great flavour combination and pavlovas are always a great option since, as you say, they can be made ahead. I definitely much prefer just assembling rather than cooking when people are over! :) And there’s that dulce de leche making an appearance again – yum!!
Thanks Lisa! Can you tell I’m a little addicted to dulce de leche right now? ;)
I only made my first pavlova early this year and now I’m a bit obsessed with it! I’ve only ever made big pavs but I love these little meringue nests and of course, BANOFFEE! So nom!
I am SO obsessed with pavs! And when combined with banoffee, well it’s a win-win ;)