Pavlova with Fruit and Cream
Light and pillowy shells filled with sweet cream and fresh berries for a sophisticated, yet casual dessert.
Servings servings
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 egg whites
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
Whipped Cream
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoon sugar
- fresh fruit for topping
- chocolate ganache if desired; see notes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 275℉. If desired, trace 6-8 circles onto a piece of parchment paper with a pencil (the top of a large, wide-mouth mason jar or drinking glass works well). Flip paper over and lay on baking sheet. Set aside.
- Place sugar and corn starch in a small bowl and whisk together. Place egg whites in a stand mixer with whisk attachment. Beat for 1-3 minutes, until soft peaks form. With mixer running on medium-high speed, slowly add sugar mixture, one spoonful at a time until all is incorporated. Increase speed to high and continue mixing 3-4 minutes longer, until mixture is smooth and glossy and holds stiff peaks.
- Add vanilla and vinegar and mix to combine, scraping down edges with spatula. Place mixture in a piping bag and pipe rounds onto prepared sheet. (Alternately you may simply spoon mixture onto the 8 rounds and shape with a spoon.)
- Use a spoon to make a little indentation in the center of each mound.
- Place pan in oven and decrease temperature to 250℉. Bake for 45-50 minutes, until edges are set and sound hollow when tapped. Turn off oven and with oven door cracked open, let pan cool completely.
- Pavlova shells may then be stored in air-tight containers for a day or two, or filled.
- To fill, whip cream, vanilla, and sugar until soft peaks form. Spoon into center of each shell and then top with desired fruit.
Notes
- If you'd like a little ganache, simply heat equal parts of heavy cream (by volume) and chocolate chips (by weight). For example, weight out 4 ounces chocolate and pour over it 4 ounces (by volume) heated cream. Let sit for about 5 minutes and then whisk until smooth.
- Store baked, undecorated pavlova in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. To preserve the crisp texture, do not refrigerate. Consume within two days for best results.
- Decorate immediately before serving.
- Top with your favorite fruits: Honestly any kind of fruit is fantastic here so use whatever is in season. Fresh peaches and other stone fruits, berries, kiwi and mango and tropical fruits, pomegranate, you name it. If you want to add a little decadence, top with a little chocolate ganache, too. How gorgeous is that?
- Another really amazing combo is filling them with my favorite Strawberry Whipped Cream, which you can find in this post here, and then topping with fresh strawberries and a chocolate drizzle.
- Whatever you do, you'll want to know that the pavlova shells themselves are very sweet, so you'll want to compensate by making your whipped cream a little less sweet than you normally would, and keeping your fruit unsweetened. It's tempting to mix fruit with sugar, like you would for berry shortcake, or pouring over a sweet berry sauce, but I've found I really prefer a barely-sweetened cream and fresh fruit. If I drizzle with chocolate, I prefer a nice dark ganache.
Nutrition
Calories: 227kcal, Carbohydrates: 31g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 11g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 34mg, Sodium: 33mg, Potassium: 55mg, Fiber: 0.01g, Sugar: 31g, Vitamin A: 437IU, Vitamin C: 0.2mg, Calcium: 21mg, Iron: 0.1mg
Calories: 227kcal
Cost: $8
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