Pavlova Nests

1. See notes below: Take notice of the tips for making meringue in the notes below. Take out your eggs from the fridge and separate the egg whites from the yolks while the eggs are still cold. Let the egg whites rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
2. Pre-heat to 200C (392F): Preheat your oven to 200C (392F). But we'll reduce this to 100C (212F) immediately when we put the cake in. The higher initial temperature is to ensure a crispy topping to your pavlova. If you know your oven tend to be warmer than normal, you can pre-heat to 180C (356F) instead. Add parchment to a baking tray.
3. Whip meringue: In a clean metal or glass bowl, whisk your egg whites on medium high speed. Add in the white wine vinegar. Mix sugar, cornstarch and vanilla bean sugar together before slowly adding it to the egg whites. Beat for 10-15 minutes. I needed about 14 minutes for it to become glossy and stiff peaks form (check if the meringue holds its shape when you turn your beater upside down).
4. Form pavlova nests: Pour the meringue into piping bags with a large round tip. If you don't have this you can also snip the tip off of a plastic bag, or even just form them with a knife or spoon. On the parchment covered baking tray, with the piping bag (or other) begin in the center of each nest and make a circular pattern around and then continue the circle on the edges to form walls to the nest.
5. REDUCE temperature to 100C (212F): Reduce the temperature in the oven to 100C (212F). Place the baking tray at the bottom rack of the oven and bake for around 80 minutes.*
6. Cool in the oven: Once you think they are done, crack the oven door open, turn off the heat and let it cool to room temperature inside the oven. It will take around 4 hours to overnight.

Assembly

1. Meanwhile, get your lemon curd and blackberry syrup straight. You can use lemon curd from the store or you can follow my recipe from link in notes**
2. Blackberry Syrup is super easy and takes around 10 minutes to make. You can find my recipe from link in notes***
3. Snuggle one tbsp of lemon curd into each nest, or more depending on the size of the nest. Drizzle with blackberry syrup (can be warm if you wish), cover with fresh blackberries, lemon verbena or mint and powdered sugar.
4. Assemble only what you eat now to ensure crisp pavlova nests. Keep lemon curd and blackberry syrup in the fridge and meringue in a dry place and assemble when needed.