Pavlova

Light, crisp and very fluffy

Light and rich, crisp and soft. This dessert is a thing of beauty, and being able to make it well is a string on anyone’s bow. And despite the many recipes out there, it really isn’t complicated. As long as you pay attention to the whisking of the egg whites and bake it at the right temperature, it’s hard to go wrong.

I hope my directions help.

A simple recipe for pavlova

Ingredients (for 6 people)

4 egg whites (about 130g of egg white)
200g fine/caster sugar
1 tsp cornflour
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
200ml heavy/whipping cream
Berries of your choice to top (I used forest bilberries in the pictured pavlova)

Method

Heat your oven to 120°c/250°f.

On the lowest speed setting, whisk your egg whites with an electric whisk. Continue whisking until you get to the “firm peaks” stage. Firm peaks means the meringue can pretty much entirely hold its shape. For example, if you created a little “peak” of the meringue, said peak would stay firm upright, not droop down. I recommend you to be bold and err on over-whipping than under-whipping. Getting it to a firm a stage as possible is key to creating a great meringue that is stable during and after cooking. Having said that, if it becomes grainy and breaking down, you have overwhipped far too much.

Once you have firm peaks, you can start adding the sugar 1 tablespoon at a time. It’s important to have fine sugar (even powder/icing sugar) so the sugar dissolves efficiently into the egg whites. After you add each tablespoon of sugar, whisk until sugar is dissolved and the peaks return to firm. You can test if the sugar is dissolved by rubbing some between two fingers.

Continue doing this until you’ve added, incorporated and dissolved all the sugar and your meringue is thick, glossy and very firm. Then add the lemon juice, cornflour, and vanilla and whisk again quickly at the highest speed.

Line a flat baking sheet with baking paper and pile your meringue casually into an elegant mound. I keep mine around 8 inches in diameter. I like to make little flicks of the meringue around the sides to give a wavy, airy, energetic look to proceedings.

Bake this for an hour at 120°c/250°f. At this temperature it should remain a lovely white colour. But if your oven happens to be hot and you see it starting to brown at 120°c, just lower the temperature to 100°c.

The way to check if it’s cooked is to see that the baking paper comes away cleanly from the base of the pavlova. You can do this by carefully dragging the meringue over the side of a table and seeing if the paper comes away clean. If it does, it’s cooked. Leave to cool before adding the whipped cream and berries.

The cut-through: crisp white shell, mousse-like centre, and delicate whipped cream on top