I just love a good Pavlova. This light, fluffy, absolutely delicious dessert is a joy for the entire family. A great option for gluten free diets, lovely for festive tables or just casual dining. This time I suggest you make a Pavlova filled with Lemon Curd, but not the store bought version, the "made from scratch by your own hands with love" version. There is no better lemon curd that the one you make at home. 

Usually, when making Pavlova, you have a lot of leftover egg yolks. On the other side, when making Lemon Curd, you get stuck with lots of egg whites. Not the case this time as I made sure you use all the eggs, whites for the Pavlova, yolks for the Lemon Curd. This being said, let's not waste a second 
(or an egg) and get to work! Enjoy the process and the degustation!

Ingredients:

For the Meringue Sponge:

• 6 egg whites
• 300 gr. powder sugar
• pinch of salt

For the Lemon Curd:

• 6 egg yolks
• 200 gr. granulated sugar
• zest from 2 lemons
• juice from 2 lemons (100 ml)
• pinch of salt
• 100 gr. room temperature butter (not cold)

For the Vanilla Cream:

• 400 gr. double cream for whipping 
• 50 gr. powder sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla powder/essence 

Method:

1. For the Meringue Sponge: put the egg whites  and pinch of salt in a clean bowl and beat with a hand mixer on medium speed, until you have stiff peaks. Add gradually the powder sugar and continue mixing after every turn. In about 10 min., the meringue should be ready. Heat oven at 150'C. Line a large rectangular oven baking tray with parchment paper. Put the egg whites and spread evenly on the entire surface, making a rectangle of around 3-5 cm height. Put in the oven in the middle rack for 1 h. After 1 h, close the heat and leave the Meringue Sponge inside the oven for another hour to cool completely.
2. For the Lemon Curd. While the Meringue is baking, start to prepare your curd: Fill a pot with 1/3 of water and put to boil, over medium heat. In a large heat proof bowl, put the egg yolks, granulated sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice and pinch of salt. Put the bowl on top of the boiling water (make sure the bottom of the bowl is not touching the boiling water) and mix gently all the time with a whisk. Very important to keep your eyes on the lemon curd all the time and mix continuously or the yolks will curdle. This procedure is called bain marie. Whisk until you have a thick cream, it will take around 10 minutes. Take the curd from the heat. Cut the butter in 5 pieces and add it to the lemon curd by whisking, one piece at a time. Put in a jar and refrigerate the cream until ready to use. The lemon curd will continue to become thicker as it sits. 
3. For the Vanilla Cream. Put in a large bowl the double cream, powder sugar and vanilla and mix with a hand mixer until light and fluffy, around 5-7 min. 
4. Assemble. Cut the Meringue Sponge in 3 equal rectangles. On a serving platter, put the first meringue sponge. On top, layer half of the Vanilla Cream. Put the second Meringue Sponge and spread the Lemon Curd. Layer the last Meringue Sponge and spread the remaining Vanilla Cream. Sprinkle silver edible stars or other silver/gold edible cake decorations or just leave as it is if you don't have any. Enjoy!