Photo by @thenonchalantcook Tart and sour flavors are some of my favorite. I wait all season long for fresh satsumas, mandarins, grapefruits, cara caras and blood oranges. As a kid I would actually eat whole lemons and limes—no need for sour candy. Unfortunately, as it turns out eating a whole lemon is just as bad for your teeth as sour candy so my parents didn’t exactly encourage that behavior. As an adult I’ve learned a little more about balance. As much as I love a fresh orange or grapefruit unadulterated, there is nothing quite like a show-stopping citrus dessert piled high with winter’s brightest jewels. Enter this Winter Citrus Pavlova! Pavlova’s may seem intimidating but I’m going to go on record and state that they are actually quite easy. Hear me out. There are only a few ingredients, there isn’t too much to the prep other than whipping eggs with sugar in a stand mixer. And when you get to the baking, you just have to be patient. Pavlova cooks is a very low oven yielding a meringue with a crisp exterior and a soft and fluffy marshmallow like interior. Once the baking time is up, the most important thing to remember is to turn the oven off and NOT open the oven door until the meringue has had a chance to cool. If you open the door too soon and the pavlova cools too rapidly it can crack. If this happens, don’t worry! It will still be edible, just not as pretty. Some people like to let pavlova sit overnight in a cold oven to cool, but I think 2 hours usually does the trick. Finish it off with some tart grapefruit curd, some fresh citrus, lightly whipped cream (I usually go for unsweetened) and you're ready to impress your friends with a meringue masterpiece. Recipe and Headnote Molly Adams Watch this video on How To Make A Citrus Curd.
