Pavlova—crispy and fluffy Pavlova topped with cream, homemade raspberry sauce and fresh berries that melt in your mouth. The best and most delicious Pavlova ever!
This elegant and colorful meringue–based dessert is named after the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova.
My Pavlova has a crisp and crunchy outer shell, and a soft, moist center. I top it with a layer of light whipped cream, some homemade raspberry sauce and lots of berries.
Making meringue sounds intimidating, let alone perfecting a Pavlova! However, my recipe is really easy to follow, and it always works. The outcome is a light, crispy and creamy dessert that is perfect to have at anytime.
The beauty of this dessert is that you only need few simple ingredients to make the meringue, and then you can top it with whipped cream, fresh berries or any kind of soft fruit, such as passion fruit or kiwi.
I personally like to top the cream with some homemade raspberry sauce for freshness and to balance the flavors.
what is meringue?
Meringue is a type of dessert I make by beating egg whites with sugar and baking the mixture until crisp. I use it as a Pavlova base, or to top cupcakes and desserts in general.
There are three popular types of Meringue, Italian, French and Swiss. Although they require different methods of preparation, they all use egg whites and sugar as base.
The easiest and most common way to prepare meringue is the French method. Simply, beat the sugar into the egg whites in batches. After that, whip the mixture to form stiff peaks.
Tips for making the best pavlova
1- Always use fresh eggs when making meringues. Do not use caned liquid egg whites. They won’t work.
2- Eggs whites must be at room temperature so that they whip faster and create more volume and better peaks.
3- Be sure to separate your eggs properly before whipping the egg whites. Do not leave any egg yolks with the whites.
4- Do not over–beat egg whites. Stop when glossy stiff peaks are formed.
5- Add the sugar gradually and in little batches as you are beating the egg whites.
6- The addition of cream of tartar (powder acid) or vinegar helps create perfect meringue.
7- Bake the meringue at low temperature to get a nice crispy layer on the outside and a marshmallowy gooey center.
8- Cracks in the meringue are completely normal. Do not be alarmed.
9- Assemble the Pavlova just before serving it as the whipped cream and berries will dissolve the meringue.
10- You can make Pavlova ahead of time. Just make sure to store the meringue in an airtight container in the fridge.
how to make homemade raspberry sauce
In a sauce pan over medium heat, stir together 1 cup of fresh raspberries, 2 tablespoons of sugar and 2 tablespoons of water until the sugar is dissolved.
Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring often. Reduce heat and cook until raspberries are tender. Turn off the heat and let cool completely before using.
You can also make this sauce with frozen raspberries.
Try my other delicious fruit based desserts:
Strawberry Cream Cake
Fig Pistachio Honey Cake
Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake
Lemon Blueberry Cake
Pavlova
Pavlova—crispy and fluffy Pavlova topped with cream, homemade raspberry sauce and fresh berries that melt in your mouth. The best and most delicious Pavlova ever!
Ingredients
For the Meringue
- 4 egg whites, at room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup castor sugar (superfine)
- 2 teaspoons corn starch
- 1 teaspoon vinegar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the whipped Cream
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons blue agave syrup (or maple syrup or 1/4 cup powdered sugar)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the topping
- 3 tablespoons homemade raspberry sauce
- 1 cup fresh raspberries
- 1 cup fresh strawberries, halved
- 1/2 cup fresh blackberries
Instructions
Making the Meringue
- Preheat oven to 300F. Draw an 8–inch circle on a parchment paper, using an 8–inch pan as a template, and place drawn side down on a baking sheet and set aside.
- In a bowl of stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whip the eggs with salt on medium speed. Once the egg whites get frothy, add the sugar, a tablespoon at a time. Mix on high until a stiff peak forms.
- Remove the bowl from the mixer, sift the cornstarch onto the beaten egg whites, add the vinegar and vanilla, and fold in gently with a rubber spatula.
- Transfer the meringue to your prepared baking sheet and use a spatula to shape it into a disk with a slight depression on top.
- Drop oven temperature to 250F and bake for 1 1/2 hours. Turn off the heat, keep the door closed with meringue inside, and let it cool completely in the oven, about 1 hour. It will be crisp on the outside but stay soft on the inside.
- Remove from oven, invert on a serving plate and assemble to Pavlova.
Making the Whipping cream
Add the cold cream, blue agave, and pure vanilla extract to the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment (you can also use an electric hand mixer). Mix on high speed until soft peaks form.
Assembling the Pavlova
Place the meringue on a serving dish and then top with whipped cream, fresh homemade raspberry sauce and scatter the cut fruits.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 282Total Fat: 22gSaturated Fat: 14gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 67mgSodium: 61mgCarbohydrates: 19gFiber: 2gSugar: 16gProtein: 4g
— DID YOU TRY THIS RECIPE? —
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I am so excited to make this. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you Tina. I am sure you will love this recipe!
I made this pavlova from this recipe and cooked the exact time. My pavlova sticky and never got the hard outside crust. I have to rebake for much long to achieve the hard outside. Most recipes I have seen take several hours and include lowering the temperature at least 2 times. I don’t know why this cooking time did not work.
Hello Rhita – thank you for your feedback.
My recipe has clear directions on temperature and baking time.
Start with 300F, then drop the temperature to 250 and then turn heat off completely leaving the pavlova in the oven for an hour with heat off. Total time in oven 2.5 hours.
I hope you try it again and it works for you.
Good luck.