Pavlova quest part VI

Another Christmas, another pavlova... I really feel that I'm getting pretty close to nailing the perfect method for my mixer/oven now.  Armed with yet more info from Anneka Manning's how to make the perfect meringue, I hypothesised that I'm getting weeping mainly from OVER beating, plus a bit more cornflour should help to stabilise things even more. There was also an interesting note that the vinegar helps to acidify the mix, producing a more stable foam so it should be added at the beginning, especially for not so fresh eggs... I added it when I moved the mix to the stand mixer, when all the sugar was in, so I'm not sure whether it helped adding it earlier or not.

So here we go again:

• 190g egg whites, 310 g caster sugar
• whisk over double boiler until temperature of mix exceeds 60C (a little lower than my previous 70C, but apparently 60 is enough for pasteurisation)
• transfer to mixer and beat, slowly increasing speed to medium (speed 6) over the first five to six minutes. 
• I ended up beating for a total of 10 minutes, which was the same as previously BUT I didn't exceed speed 6. 
• I may have been imaginging it, but when finished the mixture had a finer texture than previously, which would align with the overbeating hypothesis. Mix was actually very stiff, with peaks not flopping over, which was a little stiffer than I would normally use.
• Note that even at the 10 minute mark, the bowl was still slightly warm to the touch, which goes against the standard advice to keep beating until the bowl is cool (room temp).
• Add cornflour, 1 tablespoon = 4 teaspoons (Australian measure!) or approximately 1 tspn per egg white (assume 1 large egg white ~40g). This is double what I would normally add for a pav this size.
• Add 1 tspn white wine vinegar (1 tspn per 4 egg whites) and a few drops of vanilla
• Preheated oven to 120C and turn down to 100C immediately on putting pav into oven
• Bake for 75 mins total (1:15)

I used the probe thermometer again, and it hit 80C after about 55 mins, and stayed there until the 1:15 mark. So I think I really do need the slightly higher oven temp of 100C (rather than 90C) to get the marshmallow part of the pav to cook fully.

And the result?

Pretty happy with this result. A bit of cracking as you can see but not too much marshmallow shrinkage. I probably could have cooked it 10-15 minutes less, but I was a bit concerned at the 55 minute mark that the outer shell didn't feel really dry. It was even a little soft and springy when I pushed on it. I probably could have turned down the oven for the last half hour just to dry out the shell without shrinking the marshmallow. 

The smallest bit of weeping in the middle of the ring. This pav may have cooked a little quicker becasue of its ring shape, rather than the usual circle, but I think the use of the probe thermometer takes the guesswork out as I now know that once the temp hits 80C, I just need another 20-30 minutes (max) to complete the drying out. Overall pretty good!!!