I recently attended an event for the launch of Bonne Maman’s new Blueberry and Lilly Pilly jam. The Lilly Pilly is a native Australian bush fruit, which has been combined with blueberries using traditional French jam making practices to create this new conserve.
The tartness of the Lilly Pilly contrasts well with the sweetness of the blueberries, and I went home with several ideas buzzing around my head on how to bake with this jam.
After a spot of brainstorming and “taste testing” for further research, I decided mini pavlovas were the way to go. Meringue is often associated with French cuisine (echoing Bonne Maman’s French identity) and the pavlova is of course our Australian dessert of choice, which works perfectly with the native Lilly Pilly.
Don’t worry if you can’t get your hands on the Lilly Pilly jam, this recipe works well with any blueberry conserve. Or for that matter, any berry jam at all. If you only have strawberry jam, then top the pavlovas with fresh strawberries instead! The joy of the pavlova is that it works well with pretty much any fruit.
I plucked the very tips of my mint to decorate, and the joy of mint is not only does it look beautiful, it tastes great too! If you don’t have any mint on hand, I would suggest a light scattering of lime zest.
Oh and see that box with the cute Bonne Maman ribbon in the shot? That housed a Lilly Pilly plant which they kindly sent me. I promptly killed it within 3 weeks :( Honestly I am the worst at gardening! At least the box got a new life as a photography prop…
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
- 1 tbsp icing sugar
- 1/2 jar of jam I suggest Bonne Maman's Blueberry & Lilly Pilly
- 1 punnet of blueberries
- Mint leaves 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 and icing sugar until soft peaks form.
- Top each pavlova with whipped cream and a tablespoon of jam. You may need to slightly warm the jam in the microwave for 10 seconds so it's runny.
- Decorate with blueberries and mint.
What’s your favourite pavlova flavour combination? Mine would have to be Passionfruit and Kiwi or Nutella and Strawberry. Decisions decisions!
11 Comments
My goodness these look delicious! I will now have to hunt down this jam :)
I’m going to find out where to get the jam and get right back to you Kate :)
Love a good taste testing in the name of research!
I love blueberries and this Jam looks absolutely divine.
Nutella and strawberry definitely sound like an amazing pav combo to me, thanks for the inspiration lovely.
Such a pleasure having you join in with our Fabulous Foodie Fridays fun.
Have a delicious and enjoyable weekend xx
As always, thanks for your lovely comment Dannielle!
Any idea where we are supposed to buy this new flavoured jam? I have searched Coles, Woolies and IGA all to no avail! Will this just be something you can buy in expensive delis or food hall of DJ’s. I shall certainly be giving these meringues a go, with or without that particular jam.
Hmm I am not sure, let me check with Bonne Maman for you! Regardless, any jam would be delicious! xx
Hello! I found you through the ProBlogger conference FB page. I’m also a food blogger so we commented on the same post!
I’ve never made pavlova but will give it a go now that i am an Australian citizen! (I’m French but got my Australian citizenship a few weeks ago!) It’s a good idea to use Bonne Maman jam as a topping.
I love your photography style by the way xx
Hi Cyndie, I look forward to meeting you at ProBlogger! And congrats on getting your Australian citizenship, now you can make lots of pavlovas to commemorate it :)
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You have Cornflour in this recipe…. I’m not sure I’ve seen that in grocery stores. What could you use in place of it?
Hi Sue it’s also called corn starch, I hope that helps!