For A Winning Summer Dessert, Give These 4 Pavlova Recipes a Try

Here are 4 pavlova recipes that will ace your dessert game.

There are a few tricks to making a really delicious pavlova, but once you’ve mastered the technique, itreally is one of the most simple yet impressive desserts you can make.

The 3 golden rules to a perfect pavlova:

1. Keep your bowl dry: The natural enemies of a good pavlova are fat and moisture in the form of the water, so it’s imperative that you start whisking your egg whites with a clean, dry bowl and whisk. Running half a lemon around the surface of the bowl before you add the whites can also help stabilise the mixture.
2. Get your eggs to room temperature: You’ll need to make sure your egg whites are at room temperature to give them the best chance of whipping up into hard peaks. If you can, leave your eggs out for a few hours before you start the recipe. Otherwise, separate the egg whites and then finish the rest of your recipe preparation before starting.
3. Patience (and a good whisk!): Finally, patience is key! An electric beater is a very useful bit of kit to have for meringues and pavlovas and especially helpful with this recipe, where you may need to beat the egg whites for upwards of 5 minutes. Up to 8 minutes beating time is well within the realm of normal, so don’t panic if your mixture doesn’t come together as quickly as you’re expecting it to (especially if it’s a humid day). You’ll know the meringue is ready when it clings to the whisk in a peak without falling when lifted out of the bowl or stays in the bowl when you (gingerly) lift it over your head. Likewise, you’ll need to cook the pavlova low and slow, so plan another activity and give it the time it needs to crisp up perfectly.

A Classic Meringue Recipe

Zutaten

• 6 large free-range egg whites at room temperature
• 300 g caster sugar
• a pinch of salt

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F/gas 2. Put your egg whites into a clean bowl and whisk them at a medium speed until they start to form nice firm peaks.
2. With your mixer still running, gradually add the sugar and a pinch of sea salt. Turn the mixer up to the highest setting and whisk for 7 to 8 minutes more until the meringue is white, glossy and smooth. If it feels grainy, whisk for a little bit longer, being careful not to let the meringue collapse. Tip: If you’d like to add a different flavour to your pavlova, simply combine a teaspoon of the essence or extract (rose water and orange blossom water are great additions) to 1 teaspoon of the cornflour, then fold through.
3. Line two baking trays with baking paper. Divide the meringue evenly between them and shape each blob into a circle about 20cm in diameter.
4. Put both trays into the oven and bake for 1 hour until the meringues look slightly golden and are fluffy in the middle.

Tropical Twist Pavlova

Ingredients

• 1 mango, skin removed and flesh thinly sliced
• 1/4 pineapple, thinly sliced
• 70g Passionfruit Pulp
• 1 tablespoon baby mint leaves
• 200 ml double cream

Method: 

1. Whip the cream until it forms soft peaks and spoon on top of one of the meringue
2. Top with fruit and mint

Turkish Delight Pavlova

Ingredients

• 300g Turkish delight, chopped
• 1/2 cup pistachio kernels, chopped
• 1/4 cup dried rose petals
• 2 tbs pomegranate seeds
• 200 ml double cream

Method: 

1. Whip the cream until it forms soft peaks and spoon on top of one of the meringue
2. Sprinkle pavlova with Turkish delight, pistachios rose petals and pomegranate seeds. You can even add a spritz of rose water in place of vanilla into your pavlova mixture to really make this recipe sing. Combine it with the meringue mix at the end of the whipping process.

Classic Berry Pavlova

Ingredients

• 250g strawberries, hulled, sliced
• 2 kiwifruit, peeled, sliced
• 150g blueberries
• 150g raspberries
• 200 ml double cream

Method: 

1. Whip the cream until it forms soft peaks and spoon on top of one of the meringue
2. Top with fruit and serve straight up

Sticky Cherry-Choc Pavlova

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup grated dark chocolate
• 1/2 cup coconut flakes
• 200 ml double cream
• 500g plump cherries
• ¼ cup caster sugar
• ¼ cup water

Method: 

1. Halve and pit 300g cherries. Refrigerate remaining cherries until ready to serve.
2. Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan, stir over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil. Add halved cherries and return to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes until tender. Place into an airtight container and chill until ready to serve.
3. Whip the cream until it forms soft peaks and spoon on top of one of the meringue
4. Top with reserved cherries. Drizzle with the cooled cherry syrup, sprinkle with chocolate and coconut flakes and serve immediately.

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