Strawberry Pavlova

Ingredients

For the meringue
3 large egg whites
3/4 c sugar
1 c fresh ripe strawberries, hulled
1 tsp sugar

Filling
1 250 g tub mascarpone, chilled
1 tsp vanilla
1 tub low fat cream cheese
1 tsp sugar
icing sugar to dust

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 250. For the meringue: Place the egg whites in a large clean bowl and whisk until they form stiff peaks. It is very important not to over whisk, as it will start to collapse.
2. Now whisk in the 3/4 c sugar, 1Tbsp at a time, whisking after each addition until all the sugar is in.
3. Using a metal tablespoon, spoon about 1/3 of the meringue onto a prepared baking sheet covered in parchment paper, forming a circle about 8 inches in diameter.
4. Next spoon rounded blobs next to each other, so that they join to form a circle all around the edges. Using the tip of a skewer, make little swirls in the meringue. Put into oven, then immediate turn the heat down to 225. Leave for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 min.
5. Turn the heat off but leave the Pavlova inside the oven with the door cracked until it's completely cooled.
6. When ready to serve, or up to 1 hour ahead, whisk the filling ingredients together. Put 1/3 of the strawberries into a food processor along with 1 tsp sugar. Halve the remaining strawberries, leaving small ones whole.
7. Lift the Pavlova from the liner and place on the serving dish. Spook the vanilla cream into the center, arrange the strawberries on top. Dust with icing sugar and pour the puree just before serving. Cut into wedges.

* This recipe is adapted from delia online. You can see a video of this recipe at deliaonline.com