Pavlova with Wine Infused Pear

Peel the pears, leaving the stem on, and cut the bottom of the pears horizontally so that they fit well in the casserole.

Pour the wine into a saucepan and heat over medium heat. As soon as it boils, add the sugar and stir it in. Now add the cinnamon stick and the orange zest (only the orange part so that it does not become bitter).

Add the pears to the pan and cook, covered, over a medium heat for 25-30 minutes. It is important to baste the pears several times with the wine syrup during cooking. When we bathe the fruits, we will see them take on the colour of the red wine.

At the end of the cooking time, check the optimum degree of cooking with a skewer. It should easily penetrate to the core of the pear, whose flesh should be tender.

Remove the pears and set aside.

Add the remaining sugar and reduce over a high heat for 10-15 minutes. It should become a wine syrup, but not caramelise.

First we prepare the meringue. To do this, place the egg whites in a large bowl at room temperature and beat on high speed (5). When they form soft peaks, gradually add the sugar.

When you can turn the bowl upside down without the mixture falling out, the meringue mixture is ready.

Stir the lemon juice, liquid vanilla and cornflour into the meringue mixture. Mix gently with a spatula, but thoroughly incorporate all the ingredients for the mini pavlovas.

Preheat the oven to 130º.

Using a piping bag, form small nests on the baking tray, leaving a hole in the centre where we place the pears.

Place the meringue mixture in the oven in the form of small moulds and bake at 130º for 90 minutes.

Remove and leave to cool

Place our pavlova in the middle of the plate. Place our pears soaked in red wine on top and pour the prepared syrup around the pavlova. So that it looks like a floating island.

Garnish with pomegranate seeds or cardamom and enjoy.