Low Carb Strawberry Pavlova

Ingredients

-- Meringues --

2 large Egg whites

1/4 teaspoon Cream of tartar

2 tablespoons Splenda

1 1/2 teaspoon Superfine sugar

-- Filling --

2 cups Fresh Strawberries; sliced

-- Topping --

1 cup Heavy cream

1 tablespoon Splenda

Original recipe makes 4

Preparation

To generate froth from the eggs in the bowl, you must clean the bowls and the eggs should be kept in a cool environment before you proceed. Also make sure that the liquid only consists of egg white and no yellow.

Place a sheet of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Pre-heat oven to 250F.

Blend together the Splenda and sugar and set aside. Beat the egg whites until foamy then add the cream of tartar. Beat for another minute or two until it will stand in peaks. While beating, slowly add the sugar/Splenda and continue to beat until it forms stiff peaks. Scoop out mounds of the mixture onto the parchment then make a small hollow in the top of each mound.

Bake these at 250 for about 30 minutes then turn off the heat and leave them in the oven until it cools to room temp.

HINT. A successful meringue is the result of coating foam bubbles (the egg white) with a sugar solution then carefully drying out the water. The sugar/Splenda forms a crystaline matrix where the egg proteins have formed bubbles. The acid (tartaric acit) helps the process by hardening the egg proteins rapidly before the foam can collapse. It's a delicate process that is 50% skill and 50% luck. It might take a time or two before you get the "pefect" shells. Keep trying and eat your mistakes.

While the meringue shells are drying whip the cream in a chilled bowl. Add the Splenda midway through the whipping process.

To assemble the dessert place a 1/2 cup of berries (or other fruit) in the hollow of each meringue. Top with a dollop of whipped cream and dust with a bit of cinnamon or nutmeg if desired.

Each serving contains an estimated:

Cals: 157, FatCals: 100, TotFat: 11g

SatFat: 7g, PolyFat: 1g, MonoFat: 3g

Chol: 41mg, Na: 62mg, K: 223mg

TotCarbs: 10g, Fiber: 2g, Sugars: 5g

NetCarbs: 8g, Protein: 4g

Notes

You could use low-fat, sugar-free Kool-Whip for the topping but it's not nearly as good at the real stuff.