The Pavlova Recipe
I have spent lots of time oohing and ahhhing over pavlova recipes I’ve come across on Pinterest. Any recipe that can be completely customized always excites me. Nothing better than personal touches – it’s why I love cooking. With pavlova, I love how it can be dressed and decorated with seasonal ingredients, making it special for the exact moment you need it to stand out. Right now it’s summertime, and I can’t think of a better way to showcase the lovely flavors of ripe berries that are the star of this season.
KITCHEN ESSENTIALS
What Is Pavlova
Other than their beauty, pavlova is something I’ve wanted to try and master throughout my summer baking journey. I have shared a bit about this in these earlier posts – Rhubarb Tartlets and Classic Madeleine Recipe. Anyway, before I tried my hand at this beautiful dessert, I did have a bit of experience making meringue. Pavlova is slowly baked meringue usually topped with fruit and whip cream. Once baked, it has a crispy outer shell and a soft chewy inside, almost resembling a toasted marshmallow – but better. Typically there is whipped cream involved as well, but the recipe omits it.
A little history in case it interests you. This dessert is named after the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, but is thought to originate in Australia and was created in her honor during one of her tours there.
How to Make Berry Pavlova
I like to keep things simple – pretty, but simple. That’s why this berry pavlova made it to the blog.
While the oven is pre-heating, add some parchment paper to the top of a baking sheet. If you want, you can draw a circle on the paper, and turn it over so that the circle faces down onto the baking sheet. This will act as a guide for you when you go to spread the meringue into a cake-like shape for baking.
Then, add the egg whites to a stand mixer with a whisk attachment. This can also be done with a large bowl and a hand-mixer. In my experience, it’s easier to get the meringue just right with a stand mixer. Beat the egg whites on medium-high speed until soft peaks form, or for about 2 minutes. While the mixer is running, begin to slowly add the sugar, sprinkling a tablespoon at a time. Take about 2-3 minutes before adding another spoonful. Once all the sugar is added to the mixture, add salt and vanilla. Continue to beat until glossy, stiff peaks form.
Add the meringue to the top of the baking sheet. Form into a bowl shape so that the pavlova can hold the berry compote. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake at low heat until the outer shell is crisp, dry and has a slight touch of color – about 45 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet and continue baking until the color is slightly darker – for about 45 minutes more. Turn off the heat and leave the meringue in the oven to dry for at least a half an hour. Cool completely. Gently peel off the parchment paper and place onto the serving dish or tray of your choice. Top with cooled berry compote.
Berry Topping for Pavlova
I kept it simple for the topping. I wanted the flavors of the berries to shine through. The pavlova is sweet enough, so instead of sugar to sweeten the berry compote, I added honey and mint instead. Throw the berries, honey, mint and water into the sauce pan and bring to a boil. Let simmer for a few minutes, until the berries are tender. Cool completely before adding to the top of the pavlova.
Simple Summer Berry Pavlova
This classic berry pavlova recipe is topped with the easiest filling made with a gorgeous assortment of summer berries. This beautiful, light and airy dessert is the perfect recipe for summer entertaining.
- Prep Time: 20 Minutes
- Cook Time: 90 Minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
- Yield: 1
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Australian
Ingredients
For the Pavlova
- 4 egg whites
- 1 & 1/4 cups sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 pinch of salt
For the Berry Compote
- 1 & 1/2 – 2 Cups mixed fresh berries (I used blueberries and blackberries)
- 1 cup water
- 3/4 cup honey
- 4–5 sprigs fresh mint
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°F.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. You can butter the baking sheet prior to putting the parchment paper onto it to keep it in place. With a pencil, draw a circle in the middle of the parchment paper about the size of a dinner plate as a guide when plating the whipped meringue.
- To a stand mixer, add the egg whites and beat until slightly stiff, or when they start to form soft peaks.
- Without turning the mixer off, add the salt to the egg whites. One tablespoon at a time, gradually start to add the sugar to the mixture with the mixer still running. Continue beating while adding sugar for 5-10 minutes more until the meringue starts to look glossy, the sugar is dissolved, and the mixture forms stiff peaks. Add the vanilla.
- Spread half of the meringue on the circle on the parchment paper. Spread the rest of the meringue on top and create an indentation in the middle to hold the berry compote.
- Bake for about 90 minutes, rotating the baking sheet at around 45 minutes. Once the pavlova has slight coloring around the edges and has hardened around the outside, turn the oven off and let the pavlova dry in the oven for 30 minutes.
- While the pavlova bakes, make the berry compote, or sauce. Add all of the ingredients to a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and let simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the heat and let the mint steep for another 15 minutes before removing the sprigs from the pot. Cool completely before adding to the pavlova.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven. Once the pavlova has completely cooled, gently fill the center with the cooled berry compote. Add fresh berries to the top for garnish.
Notes
If you do not have honey, sugar can be used to create the berry compote.
Tip: slowly adding the sugar is key. If too much sugar goes into the mixture while beating the egg whites, the the meringue could fall flat. Do not add the berry compote to the center of the pavlova until the mixture has completely cooled, otherwise it may melt the inside of the pavlova.
Keywords: meringue, pavlova, summer dessert
