Strawberry Sweetheart Meringue Dessert Cups

Ready for Valentine’s Day?  Oh, don’t panic, the V-day is exactly a month from now.  But I guess being prepared is always better than rushing at the last minute, right?  That’s especially true if you’re trying something new, such as making this gorgeous and fun dessert to share with your Valentine!  Let me present to you: Strawberry Sweetheart Meringue Dessert Cups!

These gorgeous dessert cups are easier to prepare than they look.  AND, they are gorgeous?   I think strawberries and dark chocolate go hand in hand, when it comes to the ultimate dessert.  Together, I also think they are perfect ingredients for Valentine’s Day!

At the base of this Sweetheart Dessert Cup is a strawberry meringue cup, which is crispy and light.  Yet, it is slightly sweet and tart at the same time.  I covered the inside of the meringue cup with a thin layer of dark chocolate.  The dark chocolate adds a nice bitter sweet flavor while preventing moisture (from the cream) from getting into the meringue.  This way, the meringue cup stays nice and crispy.

I filled the cups with a strawberry cream, which consists of strawberry preserves for the aroma, whipping cream for the light texture, and some mascarpone cheese (Italian sweet cheese, comparable to American cream cheese) for a smooth and silky richness.   Last but not least, I garnish these cups with a strawberry in sweetheart shape and a spring of mint (please see the Youtube video above on how to easily cut the strawberries into heart shapes).  These components are similar to a pavlova, but in a dessert cup form. 

These Strawberry Sweetheart Meringue Dessert Cups will surely win your Valentine’s heart!  In my humble opinion, preparing a treat for someone is a wonderful way to show your love, don’t you agree?  I wish you all a wonderful Valentine’s Day celebration in advance.  If you don’t have a Valentine yet, you can still make this treat for your family, friends or someone you care about.   Wish you all a sweet and warm V-day.

Tools and ingredients used:

Wilton #22 Piping tip (Click here for more information)
Pastry Bag (Click here for more information)
Silpat Baking Mat (Click here for more information)
Stand Mixer (Click here for more information)
Baking Pans (Click here for more information)
Cooling Rack (Click here for more information)
Vanilla Powder (Click here for more information)
Strawberry Preserves (Click here for more information)
Vanilla Extract (Click here for more information)
Mascarpone Cheese (Click here for more information)
Heavy Cream (Click here for more information)
Dark Chocolate (Click here for more information)
Strawberry Jell-O (Click here for more information)
Oxy-Sorb Packages to keep food dry (Click here for more information) 

Triple Berry Mini Pavlova

 


I love the berry seasons!  I mean, who doesn’t?  Well, probably my hubby is the only one around here who doesn’t really care about berries.  But then I couldn’t help it but to grab a few basketful of berries home when the vibrant and juicy berries are weaving at me at the farm stands.



If you are not familiar with Pavlova, it’s a meringue based dessert, filled with a whipped cream filling and top with some fruit or fruit sauce. Pavloca is named after the Russian ballet dancer Anna Pavloca. This dessert was created in honor of the dancer during her tours to Australia and New Zealand back in the 1920s.  So, thank you Anna and whoever created this dessert.



How good are these?  Well, my tiny little girl ate two of these in one sitting (a batch I made without the liquor).  Alright, these Triple Berry Pavlova are not that big (I made them in 3-inch diameter).  But still, I didn’t expect my little girl to finish two of these all by herself!  Plate licked clean!  Okay, that’s a bit exaggerated.  But she really did finished the very last crumb on her plate. 



In this Triple Berry Pavlova, I used strawberries, blueberries and raspberries. The ripe and juicy berries are beautiful and the hint of tartness is perfect. Let me tell you, you need to make this Triple Berry Pavlova real SOON. More like, go grab your berries now and run to the kitchen and make this Triple Berry Pavloca, kind of SOON!  You’ll be glad you did.  And yes, you’re very welcome!



When I was piping the meringue shells, I got a tiny little bit of batter left, but wasn’t quite enough for another shell.  So, I piped dollops of meringue drops and use them as garnish on top of the pavlova, as shown in the picture above.  Nothing goes to waste in this house. 



Piping the meringue shells is super simple (refer to the picture above).  I used a piping bag with a Wilton 1M star tip.  See the purple line in the above picture?  Simply start piping from the middle moving outward to make a 3-inch round.  Pipe an additional round of meringue on the edges to create the “shell” so you can put fillings into the shell after it’s baked. 
 


For the meringue shells, I added freeze dried blueberries to add more flavor.  I didn’t use any food coloring so the color of these shells are not as purple as I want them to be.  These are all natural colors from the blueberries.  If you’re serving the pavlova for parties and want them to look their best, feel free to add a few drops of food coloring. 
 


While the meringue shells are baking, you can go ahead and prepare the orange cream and berry sauce. Both of them are decadent on it’s own. Imagine what they can do when put together in a mouthful…along with the meringue shells! It was totally a flavor and texture explosion in my mouth.  This time, I’m NOT exaggerating!   
 


Make sure you get a little bit of everything in each bite.  You’ll taste the sweet and tart berry sauce on top, and a few juicy berries bursting in your mouth, along with fragrant and creamy orange cream, then the crunch from the light, airy and crispy meringue shell.  Tell me that’s not a flavor and texture explosion in my mouth, I don’t know what is.  It was totally a party for my taste buds.
 

Are you convinced to run to the kitchen to make these Triple Berry Mini Pavlovas yet?  Don’t wait any longer.  I think I’m going to make some more….now!