Pavlova - Simply The Most Delicious Dessert
By Carrie.M
If you are looking for a dessert recipe that everyone will be talking about weeks after your dinner party than this is the one. This is my number #1 requested recipe! Introducing you to Pavlova!
Pavlova was first created in the early 1920’s in honour of the Russian ballerina Ánna Pávlova. Exactly where it originated has been a long argued fact between Australia and New Zealand. I was born in Australia, so of course I will always support the Australian origin! Needless to say both countries are extremely proud of “their” meringue and cream dessert.
Now the thing with making Pavlova, for every success there are at least 3 failures. What makes Pavlova divine, is its light and fluffy texture, it should melt in your mouth. If your Pavlova is flat and chewy, then something has definitely gone wrong. However, I promise you, if you follow my recipe exactly, then it will work beautifully every time and you will have your friends and family begging for more!
Ingredients:
- 4 eggs whites - at room temperature (very important!)
- 1¼ cup Extra Fine Sugar (eg Berry Sugar or Castor Sugar)
- 1 tablespoon Cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon White Vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- Whipping Cream
- Fresh Seasonal Fruit (Sliced Strawberries and passion fruit are delicious)
Preheat oven to 350°F
Separate the egg whites and place them in an electric mixer bowl, making sure not to get any yolk mixed in. Turn the mixer on high to start beating the eggs. Gradually add the sugar to the egg whites while beating. I usually do this over 5 minutes with the aim of adding a small amount of sugar and letting it dissolve before adding more. After all of the sugar is added beat the mixture for another 5 minutes (total mixing time 10mins). The mixture should now be thick, glossy and form stiff peaks.
In a small cup or bowl, combine the cornstarch, white vinegar and vanilla. It should form a smooth paste. Add this to the egg whites and sugar mix and beat on high speed for another 4 minutes.
Line a cookie sheet with baking paper and mark a 7 inch circle on the paper. Spoon the Pavlova mix into the center of the circle and spread to the edge of the circle. It is important that you don’t “play” with the mix or press it down too much as that will decrease its fluffiness when cooked.
Place the Pavlova in the oven and reduce the temperature to 210°F. Bake for 60 minutes, then turn the oven off and leave the Pavlova in the oven too cool (at least 1 to 2 hours). If you remove your Pavlova before it has cooled it may “collapse” and not be as light and fluffy.
Just prior to serving the Pavlova, whip the cream until it forms stiff peaks. Spread the whipped cream all over the top of the Pavlova (not down the sides). Finish with sliced fresh fruit and serve. Delicious…I hope you enjoy!
Note: Instead of throwing the egg yolks away, why not make fabulous custard!
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Comments
@Aficionada Thank you for your feedback! It's passion fruit, which is a little hard to find in North America but definitely worth the effort! What you see on the side is just the meringue crust, its white like the cream so it makes it a little hard to distinguish. The reason I suggest not to put it down the side is because the side crust adds a wonderful contrast in texture when compared to the soft cream and fluffy filling.
Carrie-
This hub grabs me off the bat with some Pavlova related history, how about going more into it?
Your writing style is clear, confident, and informative.
Your recipe sounds simple, but do you have a digital camera--can you take pictures of yourself or someone else mixing this all up? This would go along way to making this hub more eye-grabbing and unique for HubPages!
All and all, this isn't a bad start! Keep up the good work, and feel free to contact me if you have any questions!
Oh boy, that looks fantastic. Not to mention it doesn't require 98 ingredients, which is a no-go for me. My kids would love it with the strawberries (okay so would I). Thanks for the recipe, I've been trying a lot of HP recipes lately and have been quite pleased!
You're welcome wordscribe43 ... thanks for stopping by. I am sure your kids will love it, my nieces and nephews can't get enough. Enjoy!
Hi
I am going to try this one. I am a kiwi living in Canada and am having trouble making one here. In NZ never failed. I was given a recipe by another kiwi living here and I am still having trouble with that one too. very flat, not sure if I am not beating enough before sugar, or too much either side. My Canadian husband loves Pavs and it is at the top of his request list on special occasions and when we go to NZ (as we are in a couple of weeks). will give it a try, any ideas for remedy let me know
Thanks for your comment Francine. It could be that maybe you are "playing" with it too much when spreading the mixture on the tray. Or it may be adding the sugar too quickly therefore not allowing it to dissolve. I have never had this recipe fail so if you follow my directions I would imagine it should work for you also. Good luck and I would love to hear how you go!
I've never had Pavlova before, can you describe the texture for me? Is it like a giant marshmallow or similar to a meringue on a lemon meringue pie?
Oh Pam it is devine, its sweet without being too sweet and just melts in your mouth. The outside is a crispy, crunchy meringue and then the inside is very similar to the meringue in a lemon meringe pie but slightly lighter.
thank you Carrie!! It sounds amazing!!!
My first pavlova was an attempt to use up egg whites left over from making custard, actually. It was also a miserable failure. I'm not exactly used to working with egg whites, and the recipe I was following was very vague about how long I should be beating the eggs. My pavlova was flat, crunchy, terrible. I hate admitting defeat, so I was ready to try again right after. With your detailed instructions, with the exact times and precise methods, I was able to make a pavlova successfully! Thank you!
That's great news MandyMandy! A successful Pavlova is delicious so I am glad I was able to help you out.
Carrie, I want to make this for someones birthday because its their favorite, but the problem is I wont have enough time before hand on the day. Is this the kind of desert you can make the day before and the cream the day of? If so whats the best storing situation?
Yes you can definitely do that. I would suggest making it the evening before and leaving it in the oven overnight or at least until it has completely cooled (a few hours) and then store in an airtight container at room temperature. Cream just prior to serving.
Aficionada 20 months ago
Very well detailed instructions! About the picture... what is in the center (surrounded by the strawberries)? Also, I'm just curious, but in the picture it looks like the whipped cream has been spread down the sides, contrary to instructions in the article. Could that maybe be clarified?