It’s been way too long since we had a showstopper of a dessert. When I look over the last four years of archives, it seems that practical, slightly boring and grownup things like salad and dinner have nudged out cooking purely for the purpose of generating and distributing decadent joy. The Celebration Cake category looks like the land that time forgot. And so on this very snowy/slushy day, and the day before Valentine’s, no less, I’d like to recommend: Not a weeknight dinner.
Here is a three-tiered chocolate pavlova, a crackly-edged, pillowy-centered meringue, with a few messy, wonderful things between and on top of it: raspberry curd, barely sweetened whipped cream, a drizzle of chocolate ganache, fresh raspberries, and a dusting of snow, almost as pretty as what’s out my window right now. There are corners you can cut if you wish: you could use a drizzle of storebought chocolate sauce, you could make a quicker raspberry dessert sauce instead of making the curd, but as the curd uses 6 egg yolks and the pavlova uses 6 whites, you might find the balance of ingredients when you make both as satisfying as I do. You could also revert to the single-layer chocolate pavlova in the archives, should you need less of everything.
But the spirit here is maximalism. It’s not a one-bowl cake for rushed times or because you forgot someone’s birthday until the last minute. [For that there’s this, or this.] The stack is wobbly and a little chaotic with a mix of sweet, tart, creamy, bittersweet, crisp, and gooey textures and flavors that a regular layer cake could only dream of. It’s fun, it’s happy, it’s quietly gluten-free, and it promises to make anyone you share it with happy.
Podcast! Friends, in case you missed it, I’m starting a podcast with none other than J. Kenji Lopez-Alt where we get to obsess over our favorite subjects: home cooking and recipes, with a heavy lean towards comfort foods and nostalgia. The Recipe With Kenji and Deb launches Monday 2/26 from PRX and Radiotopia and you’ll be able to listen to it anywhere you get your podcasts. The podcast website is up, as is the Instagram, and you can hear the trailer there too.
Previously
6 months ago: Buffalo Chicken Cobb Salad
1 year ago: Pasta with Longer-Cooked Broccoli
2 years ago: Lemon Sorbet and Sweetheart Sables
3 year ago: Baked Feta with Tomatoes and Chickpeas
4 year ago: New Classic Wedding Cake + How-To
5 years ago: Bodega-Style Egg-and-Cheese Sandwich
6 year ago: Stromboli and Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
7 years ago: Guacamole and Broccoli Pizza
8 years ago: Banana Puddings with Vanilla Bean Wafers and Taco Torte
9 years ago: Charred Cauliflower Quesadillas and Chocolate Oat Crumble
10 years ago: Garlicky Party Bread with Cheese and Herbs and Fennel and Blood Orange Salad
11 years ago: Egg Salad with Pickled Celery and Coarse Dijon and Salted Caramel Brownies
12 years ago: Cheddar, Beer, and Mustard Pull-Apart Bread
13 years ago: Roast Chicken with Dijon Sauce and Mushroom and Farro Soup and Meatball Subs with Caramelized Onions
14 years ago: Mixed Citrus Salad with Feta and Mint and Edna Mae’s Sour Cream Pancakes and New York Deli Rye Bread
15 years ago: Flaky Blood Orange Tart and Warm Butternut Squash and Chickpea Salad
16 years ago: Rigatoni with Eggplant Puree and Matzo Ball Soup and Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Squares
17 years ago: Miniature Soft Pretzels and Sour Cream Bran Muffins
Chocolate Raspberry Pavlova Stack
- 6 large egg whites
- 1 1/2 cups (300 grams) granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons balsamic or red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup (20 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder, any kind, sifted if lumpy
- 2 ounces (55 grams) semi- or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
- 12 ounces (about 2 1/2 cups) fresh or defrosted raspberries
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (125 grams) granulated sugar
- 6 large egg yolks
- 3 tablespoons (45 grams) unsalted butter
- 4 ounces (115 grams) semi- or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
- 2 cups (475 ml) heavy cream, divided
- 2 teaspoons (10 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
- 1 cup (115 grams) fresh raspberries
- Powdered sugar, for dusting
Pavlovas
Raspberry Curd
Assemble and Finish
Make the meringue: Heat oven to 300°F. Use a pencil to trace 3 8″-diameter circles on each of 3 separate pieces of parchment paper. Place pencil-side down on baking sheets.
Beat the egg whites with the whisk attachment of an electric mixer on medium to medium-high until thickened, satiny peaks form (this is very important to achieve before adding any sugar or the structure will collapse) then beat in the 1 1/2 cups of sugar a spoonful at a time until the mixture is stiff and shiny. Sprinkle the surface of the mixture with the salt, vinegar, cocoa powder, and 2 ounces chopped chocolate and gently fold it in with a spatula, being careful not to deflate the meringue at all.
Dollop in big spoonfuls into the prepared parchment circles and use the back of a spoon to push them into thick, ripply discs. Place in oven and reduce temperature to 250°F, and bake until the pavlovas are crisp and dry to the touch, about 75 minutes. If they feel a little sticky or look shiny in places at 75 minutes, add another 15 minutes. Turn the oven heat off. I stick a spoon or balled up dishtowel in the oven door to keep it slightly ajar while slowly cooling the pavlovas. You can cool them completely this way, but I get impatient after about 30 minutes and cool them the rest of the way with the door open. You might get a couple small cracks, but it won’t matter for this rustic dessert.
Meanwhile, make the raspberry curd: Purée your raspberries in a food processor or high-speed blender and push through a fine-mesh strainer to remove the seeds. Place 1/2 cup of this raspberry purée (you’ll have a little extra; save for a smoothie or yogurt bowl), lemon juice, 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, and egg yolks in a medium-large heatproof bowl and whisk to thoroughly combine.
Bring a medium saucepan with an inch or two of water in it to a simmer on the stove. Place the bowl with the raspberry mixture over the pot (the bowl should not touch the water) and cook, stirring, until the mixture begins to thicken and it coats the spatula or whisk (between 170-180°F). Do not let it come to a simmer; the mixture will thicken right before it will. Remove from the heat, add butter and stir until it melts.
Transfer the curd to a bowl to cool completely; it will finish thickening as it cools. To hurry this along, as I always do, set the bowl in a larger bowl of ice water (ensuring the ice water is far below the surface of your bowl so it doesn’t splash in, of course) and let it cool, stirring it occasionally so it does so evenly.
Make final components: Once pavlovas and raspberry curd are completely cool, you can get ready to assemble the dessert. To make the chocolate sauce for drizzling, place 4 ounces chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Bring 3/4 cup of the heavy cream to a simmer in the microwave or in a small saucepan on the stove and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute, then whisk the mixture together until the chocolate is smooth and glossy. Set aside to cool slightly.
To make whipped cream, beat remaining 1 1/4 cups heavy cream with 2 teaspoons granulated sugar and vanilla extract until it reaches soft peaks.
Assemble and rest: Place a dab of raspberry curd in the middle of a serving plate and place first layer of pavlova on top. The curd can help it stay in place. Spoon about 1/3 of the raspberry curd (just eyeball the amount) over the pavlova and use a small spoon or offset spatula to gently nudge it across the surface. If it wants to spill over the edges in places, let it. Spoon 1/3 of the whipped cream over the curd and again, use a spoon or spatula to nudge it out to the edges. Drizzle some of the chocolate sauce over the whipped cream, letting some drip. Place second pavlova disc on top and repeat this process twice, with remaining curd, cream, some of the chocolate, and remaining pavlova layer. Finish with fresh raspberries, a final drizzle of chocolate, and a dusting of powdered sugar.
Transfer completed pavlova stack to the fridge for 1 to 2 hours before serving, and up to 6. The longer it hangs out in the fridge, the softer the center gets, but I promise, even at 8 hours, nothing will be bad about it.
To serve: Serve pavlova in messy wedges. If it’s in the first couple hours of resting time, you’ll probably want a sharp serrated knife to cut through the pavlova layers. Leftovers keep in the fridge for up to 4 days, but the edges of the pavlovas get more dry and the center more soft and chewy each day.
Do ahead: Baked meringues will keep lightly wrapped at room temperature for a day. Raspberry curd will keep in the fridge for 4 days. The chocolate sauce and whipped cream are best made right before assembly, although there are ways to make fridge-stable whipped creams. (The chocolate sauce would likely need to be gently rewarmed to be thin enough to drizzle if made in advance, which doesn’t seem like it would save any time.)
I’m SO happy that you posted it! I saw it on Adam Roberts’ IG feed and maybe that’s the aforementioned dinner party? I was dying for the recipe when I saw it. Your vanilla pavlova is one of my top 3 desserts – she’s a showstopper without being challenging or time-consuming – the best way to be!
It was Trent from Storebought is Fine! I made the lemon cream version with berries.
If your people want their chocolate desserts without fruit, would you omit the curd from the stack and serve it on the side? Looks K for P as well, bonus!
I I would omit, but maybe add a crushed hazelnut brittle, chopped pistachios, salted caramel sauce or perhaps make some vanilla (or chocolate) custard, just to gild the lily.
This looks delicious! I am concerned I couldn’t fit 3 layers in my oven all at once (more an issue with pan sizes than oven size). Can I put 2 layers on one baking sheet or keep one outside the oven for a second round of baking without hurting the meringue?
Can you rotate them between racks?
I used two baking sheets. One 3/4 sheet pan with two layers on it. Then a 1/2 sheet pan with 1 layer.
We have a gas oven. I started with the smaller sheet pan on the bottom rack and rotated about half-way through. Turned out perfect.
Raspberry curd?!! Oh 2 of my favorite things combined!!!!
I’m going to try this. Haven’t made this for forty years when I was a chef in a restaurant. Should be good. I used to use strawberry’s instead.
Hooray for celebration cakes! And raspberry curd: what a delicious concept!
This looks like it just might be my next baking project! I’m thinking about halving the recipe to make a 6 inch pavlova as my oven only fits quarter sheet pans (crazy I know!!). I also have some cherries on hand currently and am thinking about making a cherry curd instead of raspberry curd. Any thoughts on my modifications deb? (you can tell me they’re bad ideas I promise I won’t be mad!!)
Hello! In case it’s a helpful tip for you… my oven won’t fit half-sheet pans (annoying!) but it WILL fit “Jelly Roll pans” up to about 17 inches, and the extra few inches beyond the quarter sheet is very helpful!
My brain screamed, “yes yes and yes!” when this post loaded. It looks incredible, Deb!
Hi Deb,
I have had success making lemon curd in the microwave. Have you tried this and would it work as well with raspberry curd? Thanks
I’ve not tried it! Tell me more!
Ann Reardon taught me microwave curd. All ingredients together (minus butter!). Microwave for 1 minute, stir, repeat 3 times (1 minute, stir, etc.). Add butter, et voila! (forgive me for linking it; it’s the first recipe in this video) xox
My mom made something like this when I was a kid as a special dessert for her “Mother Study” group that met monthly. The group started when I was in 5th grade, it met monthly until all the kids graduated high school, it met 4 times a year after that, the last meeting the average age of the ladies was 80 then.
Typically there were a few slices left for the next day, I would eat my slice for breakfast.
Thanks so much for the trip down memory lane.
This looks exactly like something we need right now! But I’m not a raspberry lover. Do you have a recipe for an alternative: maybe strawberry or lemon or vanilla somewhere in the website that is in the right proportion for this?
The vanilla custard from this recipe also uses 6 egg yolks!
https://smittenkitchen.com/2016/01/banana-pudding-with-vanilla-bean-wafers/
(But I think you’d probably have some left over, as it makes about 4 cups and I think you’d use less for this recipe)
Thanks!
I’m wondering whether I could use defrosted frozen apricots instead of raspberries — I think they’re about equally soft and similarly tart. Cherries are usually a bit firmer and maybe not quite as juicy as raspberries, but if you can make a really smooth purée of them, I’d think it ought to work!
…oops, it was someone else who mentioned cherries! Someone here said they used to make this with strawberries, I’d think you could just substitute an equal quantity of strawberry puree for the raspberry.
I was the one who mentioned cherries! I’m going to give it a go tomorrow and try and purée the cherries and strain the purée to get it nice and smooth. I’ll let you know my results!
OMG I wish I could attach a picture. My husband said I just won the British Bake Off!
Thanks so much for such a show stopper of a recipe! I made this for Valentine’s Day for my family – including my sister who was gluten free. I appreciated the warning about leaving a lot of time because I would not have realized that – and it’s true! It was fun though to make. My only suggestion would be that for my taste, the three layers of raspberry curd was just too sweet. Next time maybe I would include it in only the middle layer. It made the whole cake just a little overwhelmingly sweet, which is a shame because the other parts have great flavors (and so does the curd ! Just in more moderation). The pavlova is beautiful and the chocolate flavor deep and very good. I found myself trying to find “just pavlova” pieces to offset the sweetness, but after setting in the fridge there was not a lot of that.
I would def make again – it’s a cool dessert to pull off – just with that modification.
Also I found the instructions a little confusing, and ended up having way too much chocolate sauce (Obviously not an actual problem).
Thanks deb!
These look gorgeous and delicious.
Thank you for saying to allow a full 3.5 hours and that 3 hours didn’t suffice! I look forward to making it when I have the time
Ooh, I have celiac and I’m always on the lookout for a good showstopper desert. So many sad gluten free desserts out there! I *love* meringues but I’m a little nervous because first time I made meringue it was perfect. Last two times it looked fine and then when cooled they collapsed into jaw breaking chewy pucks. And I’m not entirely sure what I did wrong. But this inspires me to try again!
Oh, my gosh, this is so gorgeous! I will try for sure, and let you know how it goes!
This looks gorgeous! That said, don’t discount your old classics. I just made your ‘I want chocolate cake’ cake for my son’s birthday and we had no leftovers. I’m sure I’ll get to trying the fancier celebration desserts one day but at the end of the day, my loved ones just want a chocolate cake for their birthday and that seems to hit the spot absolutely perfectly.
Note to bakers everywhere that meringue is very sensitive to humidity – it is best NOT make meringue on a very humid day. It will not dry out successfully in humidity, and will be sticky.
As they would say on Great British Bake, this was a triumph! One of the best desserts I’ve eaten in a long long time. Definitely a labor of love, but if it’s possible in a small college apartment kitchen I think anyone can pull it off. It was dead silent as my roommates and I were eating dessert, which is always the best sign that a dish is a success. Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe which I plan on making again and again
This was great for a dinner party of 10, but the recipe made about twice as much raspberry curd and chocolate sauce as I actually used. The extra can go on ice cream, but I ’m curious about if other people had this problem. I think any more liquid on the dessert and it would have liquefied instead of making a moist and delicious cake.
I made this and the chocolate sauce and curd weren’t liquidy for me at all and I used the whole portion on my pavlova. I’m guessing you maybe didn’t cook the curd long enough so it didn’t thicken enough? My curd was very thick and spreadable, not liquid at all. My chocolate ganache was also decently thick and solidified to a fudge texture in the fridge.
I had this same issue!
Here’s a tip: with that much sugar the eggs won’t curdle so you can cook over direct heat until boiling. Cooking fast like that will keep it fresher tasting too! Yum!
A pavlova is the queen of all desserts! Thanks for bringing this back to top of mind.
LOVED THIS! I don’t love fruit + chocolate, and saw the comment that multiple layers of the curd were too sweet so omitted raspberry curd and chocolate sauce, no sauce between layers, weighed layers, baked for 70 min, salted caramel sauce only on top, black cocoa, chopped chocolate finely, raspberries on side
This is an amazing showstopper! Would definitely make again. Worth the effort and easy to make ahead of time. I live in a high desert and no adjustments were needed..double yeah. Was loved by all. Thank you Deb.
Stunning, delicious, and surprisingly forgiving of minor mistakes in the process. We did not find the curd too sweet, but that may depend on the berries. The chocolate drizzle is beautiful, but adds more sweet than feels needed. Thinking about a (basil?) balsamic glaze to replace it on future makes. But future makes are definitely in the future!
My chocolate sauce was very runny. Used semi sweet choc chips. Weighed everything. It’s in the fridge so I’m hoping when I assemble the pavlova later today, it will be thicker. Thoughts? Ideas?
It should thicken as it chills.
Is there a trick to making meringues in more humid climates? I love this dessert but once I moved to SE VA, my meringues are just sticky goo. TIA for any help.
Melanie, a few teaspoons of cornstarch may help a bit? (often an ingredient in pavlovas too).
I made this last night and thought it was AMAZING! This morning my husband said he thought it was one of the best desserts he’s ever had. And he’s had a lot! Thank you for this!!!
I haven’t served mine yet – but the little bits I snuck were delicious. I substituted huckleberries for the curd, which I’m not sure I’d do again, but I had some frozen, and love their tartness.
My question is, I didn’t manage to put it all together without breaking my meringues. They were so (too) delicate. Did I bake them too long? (I did exactly the time specified.) I suspect no one I serve it to will complain, but I don’t have much experience with meringues, so advice welcome.
Well, it slumped further while resting (it was covered but not sealed) so not as splendid looking as these pictures, but it was a hit, nonetheless — delicious! Lots of flavors and textures.
Meringues be meringuing.
I just finished making this and can’t wait to try it later. It seemed to sink in the center slightly after this first layer of curd and cream. Has anyone else had this happen? I made the curd a day ahead and that helped thicken it quite beautifully.
What a fabulous recipe! Delicious perfection! I cut the recipe in half (using 6″ circles for the meringues) and served it for my husband and me on Thanksgiving. Gorgeous, easy, delicious! The next evening’s leftovers were surprisingly even more delicious. I will be making many full-sized versions for future dinner parties. Thanks, Deb!
I love a chocolate pav.
I’ve just got to add, chocolate pav is also lovely with creme fraiche instead of cream, and with raspberries. The creme fraiche stops the whole thing being too sweet.
Well, we didn’t have much success. I’m sure it will be delicious, but the meringues did not set properly and were completely gooey inside. We’ve made meringues before, but usually overnight, so this was a new technique for us (my son and I) and clearly we need to adjust something to make it work.
The curd? OMG. Well, we had enough puree to make TWO recipes (I piped small meringues with the second set of 6 eggs, they’re in the oven now, I’ll probably let them go overnight) and I’m so glad we did! It’s wonderful and having some left over is perfect!
This looks like another wonderful SK recipe!
I am wondering if the amount of sugar in the pavlova and raspberry curd can be safely reduced (I tend to like desserts on the less sweet side) or if the proportion is structurally important? How much sugar do you think could be removed from the pavlova or curd without causing problems or being insufficiently sweet? Has anyone else tried reducing the sweetness?
Thanks!
I made this yesterday, and it was wonderful! I used just under 1 and 1/4 cup sugar in the pavlova, and the sweetness was fine, especially offset by less sugar in other components. For the raspberry curd, I used just 2 tablespoons sugar and it was perfect. Instead of puréeing, I just defrosted a bag of frozen raspberries in the microwave and mashed them with a fork (no straining).
In the whipped cream, I reduced the sugar to 1 teaspoon and it was perfect for us.
For the chocolate, I used half bittersweet chocolate and half unsweetened chocolate chips, and it was definitely on the bitter side, at least for those who like sweet chocolate. I like unsweetened chocolate so am biased. :-)
But combined with the other layers I didn’t think that was a problem at all.
Thanks for another great recipe!
I was rushing and dumped in too much sugar into the merengue at one time and it didn’t rise. Totally my fault. Had to redo it and that version did set up. It was beautiful and delicious. I ended up with both extra raspberry purée and extra curd. Had curd with waffles a few days later for breakfast. Yum!
That was a really fun adventure!
Re-reading the recipe, I realized I completely forgot the cocoa powder, but it’s hard to imagine that that would have improved on perfection. I made a double batch for my daughter’s birthday party (figured out at the last moment how to stack three cookie sheets on two oven racks). One of the moms said to me, “My kid doesn’t ever eat sweets, but she ate this!”
(Link to photo of dessert should be on my name.)
I made 24 individual meringues instead of 3 larger ones. We had friends over for dinner Saturday night and our kids and their spouses are coming over for brunch this morning. Wanted to serve the Pavlova for both meals and individual servings made sense. I prepared all of the components Saturday afternoon. My raspberry curd took awhile to cook fully, and I think half of the chocolate ganache would have been plenty. To serve I put a meringue on a dessert plate, curd, whipped cream, chocolate sauce, added the second meringue, curd, whipped cream, and a drizzle of chocolate sauce. The portion size was perfect, looked and tasted amazing.
I made this for a friend’s 30th birthday and it was a great choice! I baked the pavlovas a day before because it was rainy and humid, so I wanted to give them lots of time to dry out. The day of I made the whip and ganache, assembled and refrigerated for about three hours before serving. I wish I could attach a picture because I don’t know if I’ve ever gotten a dessert to come out looking so much like the blog pictures!
I will definitely take this format and make some different flavour combinations. I found this a bit too sweet, so I’m thinking a vanilla meringue with passionfruit and lime curd next time I need a showstopping dessert.
Has anyone experienced issues with the curd / meringue weeping once the stack is assembled? I made a test layer… meringue baked up ok after 1.5hrs, if a bit sticky on the bottom. It cooled all day, but after I spread on the curd and cream and sliced off a couple wedges to taste test, I put the remnants in the fridge and a couple hours later found pinky brown liquid leaked out onto the plate (a mix of chocolate and curd I think).
I didn’t do the initial 2hr rest in the fridge (cut into it right after assembly) nor do the chocolate drizzle, if that matters. (It did taste delicious — I reduced the sugar in the curd by half as I wanted a tart contrast to the meringue. I might cut the sugar even further for the real thing.)
Not an issue if it only happens with leftovers but I’m now wary of not serving it right after assembly. Would appreciate any advice!
Pavlova meringue often weeps if it was a little underbaked. Did the texture otherwise seem okay?
It was a little sticky on the insides, so that could be it. I don’t have much experience with what a correct texture should be, I’m afraid.
My first attempt I had it in for 75 mins at 250F, and while the top looked done, the bottom turned out not to be cooked at all (too gooey to peel off the parchment). For this second try, I had it in for 1.5hrs at ~275F, and I was able to get it off the parchment, even if a couple spots on the bottom looked juuuust barely set. Top was totally matte and dry though. I was worried to bake it longer for fear of it drying out.
I made this and it was delicious! However, a couple things weren’t ideal and I’d love to know if anyone else experienced this/what to do to make it better in the future. I made the raspberry curd exactly as directed (I read and re-read the ingredients and method so many times because I couldn’t figure out what was wrong – I’m 100% certain I followed it precisely), yet:
1. The curd was not at all pink or red; rather, once I added the yolks to the raspberry puree, it became an orangeish brown color that was a bit off-putting.
2. It was WAY too sweet – intolerably so.
I wound up adding another half cup of the raspberry puree in hopes that might solve both problems, since the puree was so tart. It did make it more palatable and slightly pinker, but ultimately stayed a pinkish brown color.
What went wrong??
I’m guessing a lot of it will depend on the berries you have. I made the curd with a “dark forest fruits” mix… a blend of raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and red currants. The purée itself was a dark cool purpley pink. Once the yolks and butter were in, it became warmer in hue, more like a medium dusty pastel pink. The yolks here in the UK are more orangey compared to the cooler yellow yolks in the US/Canada, so maybe that contributed to things.
As for the sugar — the berry mix I used is pleasantly tart on its own. Personally I prefer my desserts to be not too sweet, so I reduced the sugar in the curd by half on my trial run. I found it to be a nice contrast to the sweet meringue. On the final version I went with even a bit less, just 2 slightly heaped tablespoonfuls. I think this, combined with the meringue layers and chocolate drizzle will be plenty sweet for my tastes. This way you get some variation between the sweet meringue, rich chocolate & cream, and tart-ish curd.
This was an incredible show stopper that everyone, picky to sophisticated palatte, loved! Everyone could not stop complimenting/eating it and it was such a joy to make.
I made the massive chocolate pavlova from SK years ago and it was incredible so today I decided to try this lovely stacked one for a Seder dinner we’re attending tomorrow. Unfortunately we’ve moved since I made the previous one and our oven is now a European spec (read: TINY) convection oven. They look gorgeous on top and are not sticky or shiny BUT the bottoms are not cooked fully even after 2 hours in the oven. The ones that were on the top and bottom racks look fully raw on the bottom. The one from the middle rack is 90% cooked but has one raw patch.
I was afraid to rotate the pans during baking because I didn’t want to collapse them opening and closing the oven door but I guess maybe I need to sacrifice some height to make sure they fully cook? Help!!
This happened to me too! It looked like the picture linked in my name — top totally matte and non-sticky, bottom still raw-looking. After it happened on my trial run, I increased the oven temps by 25°F, preheated the pans, added a bit of corn starch and cream of tartar to hopefully help stablize things. I also rotated the top and bottom pans half way through.
Last night, despite ~1h45 of baking, one layer still looked like the picture linked. Another seemed set, and the third layer was mostly set with a couple sticky bits. BUT! Once I let everything cool in the closed oven overnight, the bottoms all became set! My theory is that the bottoms had set initially, but while warm, the insides were still too gooey, so when I tried to peel the parchment away, the thin bottom layer separated from the main meringue. Once cooled, the gooey bits solidifed more, and I was able to take the whole thing off the parchment. 🤷🏻♀️
So try letting it cool fully, and if that still doesn’t work, there’s always Eton Mess. :)
[Also sorry, Deb, for spamming your comments section. This dessert is so lovely and delicious I was deteremined to make it work for me, and now I’ve apparently become slightly obsessed.]