mixed berry pavlova
Pavlovas are one of those things that I’d never heard of three months ago but have heard about almost weekly since. There was Nigella’s with passion fruit on her new show, Ina Garten’s mixed berry version and her subsequent mention that it would be included in her last meal on earth, no small feat for a woman known for starting every recipe with “beat a pound of butter in a mixer.” But the clincher was Shuna’s gorgeous guest-post on Simply Recipes a couple weeks back, and its step-by-step photos. What better to counterbalance the riches of thick swaths of whipped cream between layers of dead-serious chocolate cake but a giant meringue piled with fresh fruit? And why had I not thought to make this for Passover before?
I’ll spare you the history as you can read about the ballerina or was it the Aussies or New Zealand that devised this perfect dinner party dessert at countless other URLs, but I won’t shield you from yet another story of what a dolt I am, as what would this site be without a little self-mockery? In a classic case of not RTFM-ing, I emailed Shuna last week, begging our favorite eggbeater to let me know if that pavlova could be made with potato starch instead of cornstarch because the latter is not Kosher for Passover for reasons I cannot bear to get into? Shuna was terrifically patient with me, and did not once point out that it had already been mentioned in the comments that potato starch was a more than adequate replacement. What I should have asked the pastry chef, however, was for how long and at what temperature one should bake a full-sized round? Because that, that might have actually shaved several hours–and possibly even a temper tantrum, though I won’t admit to this–off my Sunday.
Ina Garten suggests a 4 extra-large egg white pavlova baked into a 9-inch round for one and half hours at 180, and a one-hour cool-down in the oven. Don’t learn this the hard way: it ain’t enough heat. The Joy of Baking, which after pleading emails to pastry chefs is my absolutely favorite online baking resource, suggests a four large egg white 7-inch circle at 250 for one and a quarter hours, and a full cool-down with the door ajar. I was still convinced mine wasn’t baked and popped it back for another 15 last night. It picked up a tiny bit of color early on in the baking, so I dialed it back 25 degrees, but in the end–this morning, mind you–I am mostly, fairly certain it is the proper texture inside, though I won’t really know until much later this evening. That proper texture, by the way, would be marshmallow and I dare you not to love it.
Despite the fact that her baking directions failing me, I’m still going with the Ina Garten inspiration of mixed berries and a raspberry sauce, but I use my own creation, which I consider just the perfect, best and easiest dessert sauce, especially if you’re the kind of person (ahem) who bakes a lot of flourless chocolate cakes. I can’t tell you how grateful we were that I’d set aside a couple miniature pavlovas for Alex and I to indulge upon, as it was pretty much my only reprieve in yesterday’s bake-athon. The tiny ones were perfectly cooked, of course, bloop-ed with whipped cream, a heaping spoonful of fruit sauce and some strawberries. It was perfect–light, crisp, the sweetness of the meringue balanced by the tartness of the sauce and the whipped cream softened the whole dish. If the full-sized one is half this good, I think I see dessert for my next ten dinner parties already lined up.
Mixed Berry Pavlova
Inspiration from Ina Garten, meringue directions adapted from Joy of Baking and Shuna, and raspberry sauce of my own creation
Meringue Cake
4 large (120 grams) egg whites
Pinch of salt
1 cup (200 grams) superfine (castor) or regular sugar
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1/2 tablespoon cornstarch, potato starch or arrowroot powder
Preheat oven to 250°F (130°C) and place rack in center of oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and draw a 7 inch (18 cm) circle on the paper.
Pour the vanilla and vinegar into a small cup. Stir the cornstarch into the sugar in a small bowl.
In a large bowl of a heavy-duty mixer, fitted with whisk attachment, whip egg whites and salt, starting on low, increasing incrementally to medium speed until soft peaks/trails start to become visible, and the egg white bubbles are very small and uniform, approximately 2 to 3 minutes.
Increase speed to medium-high, slowly and gradually sprinkling in the sugar-cornstarch mixture. A few minutes after these dry ingredients are added, slowly pour in the vanilla and vinegar (if you didn’t use cream of tartar.) Increase speed a bit and whip until meringue is glossy, and stiff peaks form when the whisk is lifted, 4 to 5 minutes.
Gently spread the meringue inside the circle drawn on the parchment paper, smoothing the edges, making sure the edges of the meringue are slightly higher than the center. (You want a slight well in the center of the meringue to place the whipped cream and fruit.)
Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes or until the outside is dry and takes on a very pale cream color. Check on meringues at least once during the baking time. If they appear to be taking on color or cracking, reduce temperature 25 degrees, and turn pan around. Turn the oven off, leave the door slightly ajar, and let the meringue cool completely in the oven. (The outside of the meringue will feel firm to the touch, if gently pressed, but as it cools you will get a little cracking and you will see that the inside is soft and marshmallowy.)
Jaworski notes: You can make the meringue cake several days in advance. Just store in a cool dry place, in an airtight container. However, once the whipped cream and fruit are placed on the meringue, the dessert should be eaten immediately as the meringue will start to soften and break down from the moisture of the cream and fruit.
Raspberry Sauce
This is as good for desserts as it is over plain yogurt. Keep it refrigerated.
1 10-ounce bag frozen raspberries, thawed
3 tablespoons sugar
Puree the raspberries in a food processor, blender or immersion blender. Press the puree through a fine-mesh strainer with the back of a spoon, removing the seeds. Heat the puree in a small pot with three tablespoons of sugar, until it is heated through and the sugar is dissolved.
99 percent of the time, I find the consistency of this sauce to be perfect, as is. If you like your thicker, add between one-half and one full teaspoon of cornstarch, potato starch or arrowroot powder to thicken it, stirring to make sure it’s fully dissolved.
Cool the sauce.
Whipped Cream
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Whip the cream in the clean bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. When it starts to thicken, add the sugar gradually and then the vanilla, beating the cream until firm. Be careful not to over-do it, or might end up with a bowl of homemade butter.
Mixed Berry Topping
1/2 pint fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
1/2 pint fresh blueberries
1/2 pint fresh raspberries
Mix these with 1/2 cup of the raspberry sauce (recipe above).
Pavlova Assembly
When the meringue disk is cooled, put it on a plate. Spread the top completely with the sweetened whipped cream. Add the mixed berries and sauce mixture, spooning them carefully into the middle of the pavlova, leaving a border of cream and meringue. Serve immediately in large scoops with extra raspberry sauce.
They look delicous but my question is – what is the texture? Is it crunchy outside like hardened meringue that goes like sweet dust in your mouth or is it creamy, melty?
Mmm fantastic! They are so bright and cheery. I really like that raspberry sauce. I’m going to have to try that with yogurt. How does it sit with Vanilla yogurt?
C — If done right, it should be crisp on the outside and like a soft marshmallow inside. It is nothing like those hardened, packaged meringues that have been (IMHO) overly dried out for packing purposes. It’s definitely on the sweet side, but with the whipped cream, tart sauce and chopped fruit, it balances perfectly. Being flour and butter-less, I love this as a light spring or summer dessert.
Jenn — Haven’t tried it because I don’t care for preflavored yogurts. But, I’m sure it can’t be bad at all.
Berries and meringue. LOVE. That’s the first word that pops into my mind. Absolute LOVE. Can I go home now so I can bake this? I’m sure it’s WW friendly. *wink* Actually, studying the recipe, it doesn’t look too bad. What did you bake them on? Also, how long can they be stored?
O My g-d!!
These photos? They are in the sexiest food pornography I have bore witness to in some time. Gracious me, let me fan myself. whew!
Thank you for the links, girl. Happy Pesach!
Theese look really delicious! I’ll try them in a few days, when I buy some strawberries.
Best wishes from Spain
Pilar
welcome to the world of meringue! i could have this for breakfast – …if i had to. and you just reminded me it was about time to make one asap. a very good twist is if you include pistacio nuts or small bits of chocolate to the meringue cake. had to laugh out loud about your ina garden remark about “beat half a pound of butter”. this rwas the reason why i started to buy her books. she just has to have a good heart, right? keep on rocking the egg whites! luv m
Beautiful! Shuna’s post also inspired me to make Pavlovas last week for Sugar High Friday. It is always such a beautiful and light dessert. Gorgeous colors!
I’m probably overlooking it somewhere, but how much vanilla?
I’ve always wanted to try this dish, but wondered if I’d end up with a situation similar to what my mother refers to as her Onetime Baked Alaska Debacle…
I love your site…simply love it!
Chag Sameach!
Oops…I mean, how much vanilla for the meringue part of the Pavlova?
I tried these a couple of years back – Ina’s recipe and all – and they were a sure hit. But I had to keep mine in the oven, with the temp turned off, overnight to get them nice and dry. Love your pics!
Robbyn — Oops. I spackled together so many different recipes and directions, I forgot the vanilla. It’s a 1/2 teaspoon, but I think I used a whole one, because I never listen. I will update later… must rush now…
Thanks for the great comments, people. If anyone has made the four egg white version and has found one temperature/size/cooling off period to be perfect each time, I’d love to hear it, too. I’m still just figuring this out, and will be until we try this version for dessert tonight, and perhaps after.
I’ve made these before in different sizes and using different methods, but they always seem to need a little more time in the oven and then, oops, it gets more brown than I want it too. I think the time and temperature also depend on the humidity, like so much other baking and I’d avoid making them in highly humid conditions. I have a question about the sauce. The directions to strain out the raspberry seeds using a fine mesh sieve and pressing with the back of a spoon and all that always sound so deceptively simple, but are always, always the most time consuming thing for me to do. Is there a trick to this? Or is it just another thing that takes patience? If someone could give me a hint on how to make this part easier, I’d be really happy. By the way, Deb, these are the most gorgeous photos ever.
Oh my gosh, I have one of these in the oven right now but I used a combo of martha recepie and something from Cooking Light. I’m wondering if I should be cranking the heat up some and keeping it in the oven longer…….Gosh I hope it turns out or 16 people will be quite disappointed.
Its good to know that I should wait to put it together till after dinner instead of before so that it doesn’t get all mushy.
I may just decide to whip up some individual ones after this one is done just in case.
I would like to ding myself with a major “DUH”. I did read the recipe, I promise…but I must’ve skipped the whole directions part to answer my asinine questions. That’s what I get for being enamored by the pics.
What should the consistency of the outside be when its done in the oven? and what should it feel like when its done cooling?
When I turned off the heat mine is dry to the touch but it feels a bit spongy, its not crispy or anything, does it get hard as it dries?
If it cools and I think it isn’t done can I always pop it back in the oven?
Thanks!!
Happy Pesach and have a lovely seder. I’m hoping I’ll be able to do one next year – this year with a new job and whatnot, I just couldn’t ask for time off. I know, horrible. Your dessert above, as well as that amazing cake look heavenly! Enjoy the seder tonight!!
Leftovers?
_r
I LOVE pavlovas. I first tried one on a recent trip to England (drizzled with chocolate and chopped toasted hazelnuts) and then a friend made me one for my birthday (coconut with chocolate mousse and bananas). They are such an unexpected treat. I can’t wait to try making one myself. Thank you so much.
I would like to offer a tip on the whole “straining through a sieve with the back of a spoon” part… Use a ladle instead of a spoon, the rounded backside of the ladle does really help to simplify and speed the straining step. I use the backside of a ladle when straining anything with a sieve and it works wonders with everything, gravy, custard, raspberries..anything at all. I wish I could remember where I read this to give proper credit, but I couldn’t resist passing it on to those of us who are spoon/sieve challenged. ha ha. I love pavlova’s and have used Ina’s recipe, but I don’t remember getting the marshmallow in the center texture. I was making the individual ones, how long in the oven Deb for the little ones you made for you and Alex? Absolutely love your photos!
As an Aussie girl I have basically grown up on these things, and I’m shocked an appalled that all of you haven’t experienced pavlova bliss earlier in your lives! My mother is renowned amongst friends for her amazing pav recipe, which she serves at least every Christmas, and more often than not as the finsher at dinner parties. We like ours with strawbs, kiwis, mango, banana and especially passionfruit. Her recipe is a little different – Clare was right: leaving it in the oven after cooking helps keep it dry and crisp, and stops it from sinking as much as it might. I believe my mother’s recipe actually requires you to pre-heat the oven to about 160 deg (celcius), and then turn the oven off to bake it (or at least part way through), leaving it in overnight to cool. But i’m not 100% on that…
Also, the humidity factor isn’t really an issue — I live in Queensland (aka “the Sunshine State”) and our summer Christmas days are hotter and heavier and more humid than pretty much everywhere else in Australia! — mama uses her oven trick to keep it dry and crisp. I don’t know if this is terrible blog-ettiquite, but if people would be interested in my digging up her recipe, I would be happy to oblige. A friend and I were talking about baking one this weekend anyway!
Well, had I known, I’d have invited myself to your family’s Seder, just to get a taste of that wonderful pavlova. I’ve never attempted this myself, but I’ve watched Ina Garten’s version on TV a couple of times, and I can see why people swoon over it.
My mom makes a classic pavlovla with peaches and a bit of cream cheese whipped into the whipped cream…and it is TO DIE FOR!
Pavlovas are in the air! I just made some mini-ones over the weekend, with a recipe from Gourmet. It was a 6-egg recipe and I made 6 individual pavlovas from that. They were each quite big for one person, though. I preheated to 350, put them in, turned down immediately to 250, baked for 40 minutes, then left them in the oven for 25 minutes more. They had a great texture, but unfortunately they cracked :( I think this is because of the high heat at the beginning. Any ideas?
Your pavlova looks great. I’ve tried making them before, but they never seem to work out for me. I’m not so fond of egg whites either, but I’m always up for an adventure. My mom on the other hand, makes a mean meringue/pavlova, too bad she didn’t pass it on genetically. Have a great Passover and eat a lot of good food!
Hi, could I just ask, did you make the mini ones the same way as you did the big pavlova? (I am more interested in trying to make the mini ones.) And how long did you bake the mini ones? Thanks! :)
We almost always make these for Easter…they just say spring to me.
wonderful !! ;)
Is pavlova the same thing as “floating island”?
Also, you mentioned Nigella Lawson, and I just have to say that I love love love that she includes recipes for really random things, like Chocolate Guiness Cake…
This pavlova thing DOES look a bit less labor intensive than strawberry pie, my family’s Easter favorite…
To answer the above pavlova is not at all like floating islands, in which the meringues are poached in milk, then cooled and served in a creme anglaise with spun sugar over top.
Anyhoo, I wanted to say that pavlova rules. We have it often since my boyfriend’s mother cannot have gluten. As a former professional dancer, we get a lot of lame ballet-esque gifts, like that Danzante wine and ugly ballerina figurines. However, Pavlova is something to be proud of.
Is it possible that I’m not absolutely in love with you?
No!!
Or, rather, these pictures!! Your food! Your quirk!
I am smitten.
(And your Stout Chocolate Cake was a hit!)
Ok, I only have one thing to say:
Yum-o.
I don’t really think anything else applies for a marshmellowy-goodness dessert like this.
Why, oh why must my husband hate meringue? Because these are gorgeous and certainly delicious to boot. I’m going to make them anyway and he can suffer dessertless some night. The raspberry sauce makes me wiggle with delight.
Love it, yummy, and if Ina said that, then well… I better make it!!!
I love the look of your pavlova! Even though I’m not a big fan of meringues…
Beautiful! And like you, I’d never heard of a pavlova (unless you count the ballet dancer, whom I’ve just discovered it was named for, thanks to wikipedia LOL) until a days ago…and since then, I’ve seen it six times online, on various blogs and cooking sites. Weird how that happens, isn’t it?
Anway, this looks absolutely delicious. I love your photos!
Oops. Too bad I missed your reference to Anna Pavlova in my first quick read. How embarrassing! :)
Okay, figured out that it is, in fact, NOT a floating island by actually making it for my family for Easter. It was a stark-raving success. Of course, this could be due to the fact that we substituted courvoisier for the vanilla in the whipped cream. But, it’s pure, sugary bliss, and fun to boot! Thanks for the suggestion!
I made this weekend for a late Passover fete and it was all gobbled up! Such a nice light treat instead of my usual flourless chocolate cake. I added kirch to the raspberry sauce and whipped cream. Yummy. Did have to turn my oven down-actually more than 25 degrees as the meringue was turning a bit too brown for my liking.
Hi Deb,
Your Pavlovas look gorgeous! Isn’t this the most wonderful dessert? I made some for my family yesterday; it was their first time experiencing Pavlova and they loved it.
Hello your pavlovas look awesome! Do you think they are possible to accomplish with the humble wooden spoon and bowl?
What beautiful pavs! One of my favourite desserts. I usually make mine with berries and use raspberry vinegar in the meringue as this gives a very subtle complimentary flavour.
As for the cooking timings, I always do mine at 140C for one and a quarter hours and it has always worked really well. I love the idea of individual ones and will definately give that a try next time.
Chelsea, I wouldn’t attempt pavlova with a wooden spoon (unless you have a very strong wrist), but it works fine with a balloon whisk. I bake for one and a quarer hours at 140C, like Antonia, and always leave overnight with the door ajar to cool. Cracking is part of the charm. I consider my pavlova done when it’s a pale, pale beige and the inside is sticky, not fluffy, marshmallow.
I’ve only ever used Nigella’s recipe (chocolate pavlova!) and the times and temps have worked beautifully for me. I generally make it at night and where the recipe says to crack open the oven door and let it cool completely, I let it cool overnight and take it out in the morning. (This works best when one lives alone, or at least without children and/or animals.)
Deb,
I’m eager to make these for a belated Passover dinner we’re having on Sunday. You mentioned you made mini versions – did you adjust the cooking time? Do I need to do anything differently? Am I crazy for trying the mini versions for my first pavlova experience? Do I ask too many questions?
I’ve loved everything else I’ve made from your site. Thanks for all the inspiration!
Hi Nicole — I actually found the mini ones easier, not harder. I had trouble getting the bigger ones to bake through in the center, possibly because my oven runs cool, but nevertheless: Depending on the size, miniature ones can bake for anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. Follow the same guidance to not let them get browned, etc.
i’ve made this twice, following the above closely. both times it was sublime.
How many does this make? For how many people? I need to know in case I need to double the batch for 10 people
Serves 6, but I feel you can easily serve more with it. I guess it depends on what other desserts will be around and how big the appetites are.
I think I must be an idiot. I’ve got everything in my mixer right now and it’s just not coming together… at all… It’s been mixing for 15 minutes… and nothing.
My egg whites have been in the fridge for about 4 days now… is that my problem? Are they not fresh enough for this to work?
Hubs is wondering if it’s because my egg whites need to be room temp? Is this true?
I’m baffled… I’m a fairly good cook, I’m following the directions. I had soft peaks before I added the dry and wet ingredients… I feel like I’m totally missing something. Anyone??
There are a zillion things that can interfere with egg whites whipping: even a smidgen of egg yolk in them, a slightly unclean bowl (or even with just the smallest amount of soap left over), anything else on the beaters… — room temp egg whites whip better than cold ones in general, but you can still use the cold ones.
For the mixed berry topping, do you use 1/2 pint of one of the fruits or 1/2 pint for all of them? Because I only see strawberries in your pictures.
I use raspberry vinegar in mine, and it adds a wonderl flavor, along with a tiny pinkish tint! Wonderful!
Hi Deb!
I’m new to your blog but i already am addicted! Thanks so much for being so generous with your tips and so patient answering questions. I hope this post isn’t too old for me to ask a question…..
I just tried making a chocolate Pavlova (Nigella’s recipe) tonight. I beat the eggs and sugar (and added 1 tbsp cornstarch) to stiff peaks, but when i folded in the chocolate, chocolate bits and vinegar, the egg whites became soft! Wouldn’t hold any form on the baking sheet, so was kinda flat-ish…..
Anyway, I persevered, and baked according to temps. The whole thing puffed up quite nicely, but started cracking around 40 minutes. At 50 minutes I opened the oven to check, and after that the pavlova sank! I deemed it cooked already at 50….any longer it would have been rock hard.
Upon eating, it was still yummy, though not too much marshmallow center.Cutting it flattened it all the more….
My questions:
1. Does adding the chocolate and cocoa make the egg whites go from stiff peaks to soft peaks? Is it supposed to react this way? Or am I doing something wrong? If it IS supposed to react this way, I guess I really won’t be able to shape it on the pan?
2. I’ve read that opening the oven door too early causes it to sink. How am I supposed to tell if its done? When it starts cracking/looking dry?
Thanks again!
Kat
Hi Katsby — I haven’t made a chocolate pavlova before, so I can’t tell for sure what happened. However, in general when ingredients are added to egg whites, they deflate a bit. They can usually be rewhipped, but again, since I haven’t tried chocolate I can’t say for sure that it will. Hopefully someone else will chime in with oven door advice; I hadn’t heard it before — but then again, it’s never good to let an oven cool off in the middle of a rising baking process. The baked good won’t just “bounce back”.
Has anyone tried the Mixed Berry Pavlova in this month’s Gourmet? I’m in the middle of it, wish I had searched your site for pavlova before I started! It’s very similar, but has the whole 3-layer thing going for it. Anyway, does anyone know how long you can hold a cooked meringue? The dinner is in 3 days, so I’m wondering if I should freeze them. (Assuming all goes well and they turn out!)
PS: thrilled at the idea of adding raspberry sauce to this! Thanks!
You cannot imagine my shrill of glee when I read that yours flopped the first round too –no offense! I saw a similar recipe in “The Easy Vegetarian” (made with passion fruit) and the photo alone made my mouth water, not to mention my excitement at the thought of creating something as sophisticated as Pavlova. Much to my dismay, the first round failed miserably resembling warm whipped cream. I too, had a rather poor display of temper at that point. I promptly called my grandmother, who is known for her meringue, and walked through it step-by-step with her over the phone to figure out what went terribly awry. I had not beaten the eggs long enough. My second version turned out like your first. My husband and kids still ate it but it was far too sweet for me.
Now that I see you explain what it is supposed to resemble, I may have to try again…
Ì make pavlova quite a bit, it`s one of my favorite summer desserts. I`ve never used any kind of startch in mine, just egg whites, sugar, and a tiny pince of salt. It`s the same way my Mum makes it. It`s the same thing with Jamie Oliver`s recipe from Cook With Jamie, no starch needed. It also has a chocolate meringue recipe, and lots of trouble shooting tips. Pretty helpful!
I make 6-egg pavlovas regularly; they’re one of my favorite desserts.
In answer to Katsby’s oven door question, trust your timer, and don’t open the oven door for any reason. For a 6-egg meringue, I cook at 250 for 90 minutes, then without opening the oven door, turn the oven off for a 1-hour cooldown. Meringues are full of air, so it’s impossible for it to become “rock hard.” Don’t worry about it. (It is possible for your meringue to be a bit brown. If that happens, pretend that’s how it’s supposed to look; it’ll still be delicious. Next time, turn the oven down a few degrees)
As for Mary’s question of pushing berries through a strainer with the back of a spoon, I have no idea how people get that to work. I pour the berry puree into a cloth, gather the edges, then twist to force the liquid through and leave the seeds. This may be overkill for only 10 oz. of fruit, though, as you lose a little into the cloth, and some that you have to lick off your fingers. However it does get all the liquid out, as the curious will find that the seeds left in the cloth have no flavor at all.
For Katsby –
I’ve made Nigella’s Chocolate Raspberry Pavlova a million times, and I agree with Sengkelat that you shouldn’t open the oven door ever. You can look through the glass w/the light on and see whether or not it’s dried/cracking. That recipe doesn’t contain the starch that this pavlova recipe has, and it therefore has a different consistency entirely (it’s still kind of a “chewy sponge” (her words) on the inside, but the outside dries up, cracks, and falls a bit). The most helpful for me was watching her make it on Nigella Bites all those years ago – you see exactly what it looks like when it comes out of the oven.
I’m excited to try this recipe because I want to see what the starch will do for the consistency. But Katsby – don’t give up! Set your oven for about 10 mins less than the recipe calls for and leave it alone. When you pull it out it will crack/sink more, but it’s supposed to look that way. (Look at the picture in her book!)
Good luck!
Mmm, my mother used to make Pavlova pudding and it was delicious. She sliced strawberries thin and let them sit with sugar, and used that for the topping. I will add this to my mental List of Things I’m Thinking About and might make it in her memory.