Pavlova
Crisp-on-the-outside, marshmallow-on-the-inside meringue base, topped with whipped cream and fresh seasonal fruit. Australia and New Zealand both claim it; both names honour Anna Pavlova. Either way, it's the easiest spectacular dessert you can make.
Overview
The easiest spectacular dessert you can make, and the one thing Australia and New Zealand still argue about ownership of. You whip egg whites with caster sugar to stiff glossy peaks, then fold in cornflour and a splash of white wine vinegar (those two are the trick to the marshmallow centre that defines a real pavlova against an ordinary meringue). Spread into a wide circle on parchment, edges built slightly higher than the middle so they can hold the cream later, and bake low and slow until the outside has crisped to a pale biscuit colour and the inside stays soft. The shell cools completely (which can take an hour) before you top it. Crown it warm and the cream weeps and the meringue weeps with it. Whipped cream piled in the centre, fresh seasonal fruit on top: berries, passionfruit, mango, kiwi, whatever is in season. Cut at the table, watch the shell shatter, eat with a small pile of pulp running down the spoon.
Ingredients
Meringue base
- 6 egg whites (large, room temperature)
- 350 g caster sugar
- 2 teaspoons cornflour
- 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar (or lemon juice)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- A pinch of salt
Topping
- 500 ml double cream
- 2 tablespoons icing sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 400 g mixed berries (strawberries, raspberries, blackberries)
- A small handful of fresh mint leaves
Method
Stage 1 - Prep
- Heat the oven to 150°C (130°C fan).
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Draw a 23 cm circle on it (turn the paper over so you don't draw on the food).
Stage 2 - Meringue
- Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer (or a clean dry bowl).
- Add the salt; whisk on medium until soft peaks form.
- Increase the speed to high; add the sugar a tablespoon at a time, allowing each to dissolve before the next.
- Continue whisking until the meringue is stiff, glossy, and holds firm peaks (about 8-10 minutes total).
- Sprinkle the cornflour over and drizzle in the vinegar and vanilla; fold gently with a spatula.
Stage 3 - Shape
- Spoon the meringue into the centre of the circle on the parchment.
- Spread to fill the circle, building up the sides slightly higher than the centre (creates a well for the cream).
- The texture should look swooshy and pillowy, not smooth.
Stage 4 - Bake
- Bake for 1 ¼ hours.
- Turn the oven OFF; leave the meringue inside for at least 1 hour to cool slowly (sudden cooling cracks the surface).
- Once completely cool, peel off the parchment.
Stage 5 - Top
- Whip the cream with the icing sugar and vanilla to soft peaks (don't overwhip; just-set is glossy).
- Spread the cream over the meringue base.
- Pile fresh fruit on top.
- Scatter mint leaves.
Stage 6 - Serve
- Cut into wedges with a sharp knife.
- Eat within an hour of assembly; the meringue softens under the cream.
Notes
- Cornflour and vinegar: The chemistry that gives the marshmallow centre. Skip and you have plain meringue.
- Cool slowly: Pulling the meringue from a hot oven into a cold kitchen cracks the shell. Leaving it in the dying oven keeps it intact.
- Top close to serving: Cream-on-meringue more than 1-2 hours = soggy disc. Plan timing accordingly.
Storage
- Plain meringue keeps 3-4 days in an airtight tin.
- Topped pavlova doesn't keep; eat within 2 hours.
More like this
Bread Pudding (Creole)
Stale French bread (a day-old baguette is perfect) tears into 3 cm chunks. Custard: whole milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon zest. Raisins steep in 4 tablespoons bourbon for plump. Bread soaks in custard 30 minutes; raisins fold in. Tips into a buttered 25 × 18 cm dish; dots with butter. Bakes for 45-50 minutes at 175°C till the top is bronzed and the centre is set but still custardy. Whiskey sauce: butter melts with sugar; cream and bourbon stir in; warmed but not boiled. Pours over the pudding at the table.
British Apple Pie
Buttery shortcrust rests then rolls; one disc lines a pie dish, fills with sliced spiced apples, the second disc tops it. Egg-washed, sugared, vented, baked golden. The juices thicken with cornflour as they cook so the bottom doesn't go soggy.
Cheese Blintzes
A two-stage dish. First, thin crepes (much thinner than a pancake - almost see-through) cooked one side only on a buttered pan, stacked under a clean cloth. Then a filling of farmer cheese (or ricotta drained well) mashed with egg yolk, sugar, vanilla and a little lemon zest. A heaping tablespoon of filling on the cooked side of each crepe, folded into a tight envelope, and fried briefly in butter on both sides until golden. Served warm with cold sour cream and a spoon of red-berry compote.
New York Cheesecake
A graham-cracker base is pressed into a 23 cm springform tin and pre-baked for 10 minutes. Filling: cream cheese is softened to room temperature (cold cream cheese gives lumpy batter), then beaten with sugar, eggs one at a time, sour cream, vanilla and lemon. The tin is wrapped in foil so the water bath doesn't seep in. Baked at 160°C in a water bath for 60-75 minutes until the edges are set but the centre wobbles a 7 cm circle. Cooled in the oven with the door cracked for 1 hour (avoids cracks). Chilled overnight. Served chilled.