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Sponsored By Spar Freshline

Way back sometime in November, Spar Freshline sent me an email titled: Know what makes a good mom? With some shopping vouchers to test some of the Freshline produce. Of course, this good mom knows that being a good mom also means taking care of me and scheduling some down time just for me which I did on Friday night. I arranged for a handful of girlfriends to come over for dinner with each of us preparing something to add to the feast and I did all my shopping exclusively at my local Spar with the focus on purchasing Freshline produce.

My contribution to the evening was my cheaters Pavlova! Now don’t be horrified but I’m really not much of a Martha Stewart time, I enjoy entertaining but do not enjoy preparing any dishes that require me to spend hours in the kitchen. But this Pavlova is delicious and can be prepared a few hours in advance, thanks to the cheaters recipe of cheesecake filling! I stumbled across it a couple of years ago on Ina Paarman’s website and it’s been my go to dessert of choice when I want something delicious but quick to prepare!

Serves 12

Pavlova

The big advantage of using the cheesecake mixture to stabalise the cream is the fact that the pavlova can be filled for up to 6 hours before serving.

12 SERVINGS

6 egg whites
1 T (15 ml) fresh lemon juice
1½ cups (330 g) castor sugar
1½ T (22.5 ml) boiling water
1½ T (22.5 ml) cornflour
baking paper

Adjust oven rack to middle position.

Preheat the oven to 140°C and line a large oven tray with baking paper. Draw a 26 cm diameter circle on the baking paper.

Wipe a bowl out with the cut side of a lemon and then dry it with clean kitchen paper. Rinse the beaters in boiling water to make sure there is not a speck of grease on them.

Beat the egg whites just until bubbles form. Add the lemon juice.

Beat vigorously on high speed while turning the bowl.

When the whites form peaks and the points of the peaks just flap over when you lift the beaters. Start adding the castor sugar tablespoon by tablespoon. Continue beating and adding the sugar slowly until the mixture becomes very thick, heavy and shiny.

Sift over the cornflour and add the boiling water. Fold it in lightly.

Glue the corners of the baking paper to the pan with a little of the meringue mixture. Spoon the meringue into the centre of the circle on the baking paper.

Spread the meringue mixture to fill the circle and then shape it with the back of a spoon to form a ‘nest’. Lift the sides up higher with a pallet knife, from the base to form the ‘wavy’ lines on the outside.

Bake for 20 minutes at 140°C, then turn the oven down to 100°C, bake for another 1½ hours. Switch off the oven and leave the Pavlova in the oven with the door closed to cool down completely.

CHEESECAKE FILLING

12 SERVINGS

1 cup (250 ml) cold water
1 x 250 g Ina Paarman’s Lemon Cheesecake Mix
2 cups (500 ml) fresh cream

Mix according to box instructions, but use 2 cups (500ml) of cream as per ingredient list above. Keep the mixture covered in the fridge.

FRUIT

12 Servings
1½ punnets (750g) strawberries
¾ cup (187,5 ml) granadilla pulp

Rinse the strawberries and remove the green stalks – cut berries in half. Refrigerate in a closed container in the vegetable drawer where they won’t get too cold.

TO ASSEMBLE

Fill the pavlova with cheesecake mixture, top with fruit and serve.

 Of course, I took this a step even further and purchased a ready made Pavlova base from my local Spar!

But the Pavlova along with all the other foods and wines and champagnes we consumed on Friday night, were absolutely divine!

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Spar Freshline were right, Mom’s do know best and this mom really did enjoy her girls night in as well as the good quality fresh produce I purchased from my local Spar!
I also have a R300 Spar voucher to give away to one lucky reader!
All you need to do is leave a comment below with a link or actual recipe you’d like to try using Spar Freshline produce! Winners will be drawn on Friday, 15th November using Random.org.
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