Crispy pavlova with a soft centre, topped with whipped cream, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and mint. A simple showstopper dessert with red fruit.
Prep Time 20 minutesmins
Cook Time 1 hourhr30 minutesmins
cooling in the oven 30 minutesmins
Total Time 2 hourshrs20 minutesmins
Course Dessert
Cuisine Australian
Servings 4persons
Calories 590kcal
Ingredients
Meringue
⅔cupegg whitesfrom 5–6 large eggs, room temperature
1 ¼cupsugar
2½teaspoon cornstarch
1teaspoon white vinegar
Raspberry sauce
1cupraspberries
¼cupsugar
garnish
1cupheavy cream
2tablespoonsconfectioners sugar
1cupstrawberrieswashed, hulled and quartered
1cupraspberries
¼cupblueberries
3twigsfresh mint leaves
Ingredients you need per step are listed below the step in Italic
Instructions
Meringue
Preheat the oven to 325 °F.
Take a clean bowl and whisk hooks (make sure to wash them thoroughly before using them, otherwise the egg whites won't stiffen). Beat the egg whites in a stand mixer or with an electric mixer on high speed for 1 minute.
⅔ cup egg whites
While beating, add the caster sugar one dessert spoon at a time.
1 ¼ cup sugar
Continue to beat on high speed for 8 minutes, until the meringue is fluffy and glossy and no sugar grains remain when you rub a little between your fingers.
Add the white vinegar and cornstarch and beat for another 30 seconds.
2½ teaspoon cornstarch, 1 teaspoon white vinegar
Dab a little meringue on the corners of 2 baking trays and cover them with baking paper.
Spread the meringue in a circle in the middle of one of the trays.
Place the trays in the oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 225 °F
Bake for about 1 hour and 30 minutes, or until the pavlova feels dry to the touch. If it still feels sticky, bake a little longer.
Turn the oven off and let the pavlova cool completely in the oven for at least 4 hours or up to 10 hours.
Once fully cooled, store the meringue in an airtight container in a cool, dry place until needed.
Raspberry sauce
Place the raspberries and sugar in a saucepan and heat for 3 minutes. The sugar is dissolved by then and the raspberries become juicy.
1 cup raspberries, ¼ cup sugar
Rub the raspberries with the back of your spoon through a sieve. This keeps the seeds behind in the sieve and you have a smooth sauce.
Allow to cool to room temperature.
Garnish
Shortly before serving, whip the cream with sugar until stiff peaks form.
1 cup heavy cream, 2 tablespoons confectioners sugar
Pile whipped cream on top of the pavlova. Pour some sauce on top.
Decorate with strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and mint leaves. Serve immediately.
1 cup strawberries, 1 cup raspberries, ¼ cup blueberries, 3 twigs fresh mint leaves
NOTES
1. My pavlova feels sticky after baking, what now?Bake a bit longer at low temperature until the outside feels dry. Exact times can vary per oven.2. Can I make the pavlova a day ahead?Yes. Bake and cool completely, then store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. Top with cream and fruit just before serving.3. Can I use other fruit?Sure. Any soft berries work well. Just avoid very wet fruit that might soak the meringue too quickly.4. Variation
Mini pavlovas: Make several smaller circles instead of one large one; the bake time will be shorter, so keep an eye on them.
5. Storage
Meringue base: Store fully cooled meringues in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for 1–2 days.
Whipped cream and fruit: Keep in the fridge and add to the pavlova right before serving.
Assembled pavlova: Best eaten immediately. After a few hours the meringue will soften from the cream and fruit.