Ann Reardon

Pavlova Recipe Happy Australia Day

meringue cake recipe nigella pavlova

Pavlova or ‘pav’ as we call it in Australia is easy to make. If you have never had one before go ahead and try it. You will fall in love with this dessert!

Pavlova Meringue Ingredients

8 egg whites (make sure there is no shell or yolks at all in your whites)
2 1/2 cups caster sugar (also called superfine sugar)
2 tsp vinegar

Filling

600 millilitres (20.29 fluid ounces) cream (35% fat)
2 Tbsp icing sugar (powdered sugar)
1 tsp vanilla
250g (8.82 ounces) (or 1 2/3 cups) blueberries
250g (8.82 ounces)(or 1 2/3 cups) strawberries
1 banana and fresh lemon juice

Place all your ingredients into a bowl and whip on high speed of an electric mixer until it holds it shape when you lift up the beaters (turn them off before lifting up if you do not want your kitchen coated in splatters of sweet meringue.)

Using pencil draw three 19cm (7.48 inches) circles onto non-stick baking paper, turn the paper over so that the pencil will not touch the meringue.

Scoop the meringue evenly between the three circles and using the back of a spoon spread it out and shape it into a disc.

Bake in a slow oven 120C (248 degrees Fahrenheit) for 1 hour.

Turn the oven off and leave to cool in the oven, taking it out will cause large cracks.


Whisk together the icing sugar, cream and vanilla until soft peaks form.

Wash your fruit and slice the strawberries lengthwise. slice the banana and coat in lemon juice to prevent browning.

Assembly – please watch the video for assembly instructions.

To serve you can eat immediately, in which case the meringue will be crunchy or you can leave it in the fridge for an hour or more and the meringue in the middle will be like marshmallow and it is easier to slice.

pavlova recipe ann reardon how to cook that
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All recipe quantities in the book are in grams, ounces and cups.

97 Comments View Comments

  1. Hi Ann,

    If I want to turn it into mini pavlovas, how long do I have to bake it for and at what temperature? Do I have to leave it overnight too?

  2. Hey Ann,
    Is there any way to make sure it doesn’t crack? Any tricks?

    • Yes Samantha, Two things: 1. make sugar that the sugar is fully dissolved in the mixing process. 2. Once cooked just turn off the oven and walk away. Let the Pavlova cool nice and slowly in the oven overnight.

  3. Hi,
    For the whipped cream, should I use powdered gelatin to keep it firm?
    And how far in advance can I make the Pavlova before serving, you mention 1 to 2 hours, is that the maximum amount it lasts? How can they sell them in pastry shops :)?

    • Hi Raquel, Pavlovas produced commercially for supermarkets etc usually contain stabilizers and preservatives to increase shelf life but they just don’t taste as good. Fresh baked Pavlovas need to be consumed within a couple of days as the meringue will begin to soften when exposed to the air. You don’t need gelatin, but pavlovas work best if you use lemon juice (or cream of tartar) as per the recipe . Some people also like to add around up to a tablespoon of cornflour to make the meringue more dense. I bake mine the day before I intend to serve.

      • Thank you!

  4. Hi Ann,
    Can I bake all three at the same time? If so do I put them in the oven in the top, middle and bottom rack? For the same temp and time? Trying to make this today but I don’t want to be at the kitchen the whole day baking each layer separate. Thank!

    • Hi Thoiba, you can, but the result will be dependent on your oven. Some ovens hold temperature unevenly and it may mean some layers work better than others. If you have a fan-force oven, then you could give it a go.

  5. Hi, is it possible not to do 3 layers and to just do one whole using the same temperatures and times?

    • Hi Daniel, it will work best as suggested, though you could cook one large pavlova but it will take longer and be more likely to crack.

  6. Hi Ann,
    Can I know the exact oven temprature for the conventional one ( No fan oven )??

  7. Like one of your previous readers, I wonder if xylitol could be substituted for sugar in any meringue (white of chocolate)? Thank you.

    • Hi Sharon, It won’t produce the same results.

  8. I you cook it for and hour how long do you leave it in the oven for after

  9. Hello I really love this recipe and im dying to try it but my daughter is allergic to egg is thier any substitute I could use I was thing maybe marshmellow or something? She really loves feuit though so I know she would love it. Thank you so much for another amazing recipe

    • Hi dasha, pavlova is made with egg whites and so is real marshmallow, so there is no easy replacement.

      • The accident of finding this post has britghened my day

    • You can make vegan meringues and pavlovas using aquafaba. Aquafaba is latin for bean water and that is exactly what it is, the water left behind after you cook beans (usually garbanzos or other white beans). Google it and you will find a lot of information. Aquafaba is quite new, within the last two years. I actually made an pavlova this evening without using any egg whites.

      If you are currently looking at this message thinking “this chick is crazy”, I am certain I had the same look on my face when I first heard about this a few months ago. And the first time I tried it, I was very skeptical. But it does work, although the techniques is a little different than using egg whites. It takes longer to whip up, but you can’t really over whip it so it is not quite as touchy as using egg whites. And the flavor is not as neutral as egg whites.

  10. I have made this pavlova recipe countless of times (thank you so much! It’s a family favorite). I was wondering if this same recipe can be used as a meringue recipe. I want to make meringue Christmas tree topers for a Christmas cake. I am 100% sure it can be, but just need confirmation.

    If so, would I need to change the baking time or degrees? Thanks so much!

    • Hi Megan, Ann is confident this recipe should be fine.

  11. Q, how do I remove the meringue without it breaking? Can I spray Pam or cooking oil?

    • Hi Margarete, Always use non-stick baking paper. If the meringue is completely cool, you can shift it by peeling the baking paper off the base as you gently slide it onto a tray.

  12. Hi Ann,
    Some chefs recommend beating the egg whites on medium speed, they say they get more air. I tried it that way and it didn’t work as well for me, and I see you use high speed, so it’s better on high speed after all?
    Also are vinegar, corn flour, lemon juice and cream of tartar all meant to stabilize the egg whites, and does that mean that we can use either one of them? And in the chocolate pavlova recipe is there no need for one of them because you use cocoa?
    Thank you!

    • Hi Danced, Ann usually beats the egg whites on high. If a chef is making a large quantity or needs to time the making of other ingredients, t then they will choose a slower speed. Vinegar and lemon juice and cream of tartar all contain a mild acid that is a stabliser for the egg whites that help bonds form to create the stiff peaks. You can use either. Cornflour changes the texture, so Ann prefers not to use it. Ann says she didn’t use a stabliser in the chocolate pavlova, but there is no reason why you couldn’t.

  13. Hi ann i was wondering , does it matter if i use out of date eggs by 23 days

    • Hi cameron, fresh is always best especially for meringue. The older the eggs the longer it takes to whip the whites and they do not hold well once they are whipped. you’ll notice a pool of liquid at the bottom of the bowl not long after you’ve whipped them.

    • Hi cameron, fresh is always best especially for meringue. The older the eggs the longer it takes to whip the whites and they do not hold well once they are whipped. you’ll notice a pool of liquid at the bottom of the bowl not long after you’ve whipped them.

  14. Hi Ann,
    I was just wondering have you thought about getting a thermomix? Well i have one and its been making my life so much easier! By chance if you do have one, could you make a video using it?
    Thanks

    • Hi Nitya, Ann hasn’t got a thermomix.

  15. nice receipt and presentation!

    • Thanks ksyusha.

  16. Hi Ann.. May I know why you don’t put cornflour in the pavlova? How to make the marshmallow dry ya? Mine is always moist when touched. Thank you.

  17. Hi Ann! Is full cream milk a substitute of whipping cream? Pls answer!!! I really need ur help Thank You and ILYSM

  18. Question: I love meringue cookies, pavlovas & macarons, but they all use so much sugar. I was wondering if you’ve had any success making those recipes using healthy sugar substitutes (Stevia in the Raw, Xylitol or something healthier than sugar b/c Splenda is so bad for you, you might as well eat real sugar) for those who have diabetes or trying to lose weight. Thanks so much for making these recipe videos! They really help me to be able to make things that I would otherwise feel too intimidated to try. You make them doable and give very helpful tips.

  19. Hi Ann. I am looking forward to making this recipe but I’m just wondering as to whether I am supposed to bake all three discs at once or one by one separately? Thank you so much 🙂

  20. could you use balsamic vinegar

    • hi sarah, that may make it taste unusual as it has a distinct flavor

      • thank you but im using it any way but i will put vanilla lol 🙂

        • 😀

          • its finished, but it hasn’t cracked is that a concern? 😀

          • Hi Sarah, if it hasn’t cracked that is good

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