Mini Berry Pavlova

Hey everyone! I hope you’re having just the best weekend, and it’s time to share the recipe for these pretty little pavlovas!

This is a multi-step process, but the end result is a super yummy dessert that’s perfect for the end of summer. I’m using berries for mine, and the result is a super creamy, crisp, chewy treat. Let’s get to it!

How to Make High-Altitude Pavlovas

We’re starting out with a simple meringue. This is a Swiss meringue, so if you’ve ever made a Swiss meringue buttercream, it’s basically the first part of that recipe. We’re heating up the sugar and egg whites over a double boiler until the sugar dissolves, and then whipping it up until it’s cooled. It will be thick, white, and super glossy!

Then we’re scooping it out onto a baking sheet and using a spoon to make a little divot in the middle of each meringue- this is where we’ll put the cream later on! Off to the oven for an hour with the heat on, and then turn the heat off and leave the meringues in the oven for another hour to finish cooking.

The sauce is super simple, and you just want to heat all the ingredients together over medium heat until you get a slightly thickened, syrupy sauce to pour over the top.

Finally the whipped cream is super easy as well. I’m adding a little bit of instant vanilla pudding mix, which helps to stabilize the whipped cream and keep it at the right consistency for longer! Once everything is ready, we’re just layering it all together into a pretty little treat!

Tips & Tricks for Mini Pavlova!

This method for making meringue is super easy, but I’ve got a few tips and tricks to help you along the way!

• Be sure the sugar is dissolved in the egg whites. You can do this by rubbing a tiny bit of the mixture between two fingers- you shouldn’t feel any grittiness! The mixture won’t be super hot at this point. Alternatively, you can use an instant read thermometer, and it take it off the heat once it reaches 160 degrees.
• Beat the egg whites until fully cooled and stiff peaks have formed. If you don’t beat them long enough, you won’t have a stiff enough meringue. be sure to give it a good 8-10 minutes of whipping on a stand mixer!
• They can be close together on the pan since they only slightly puff while baking.
• If your sauce gets too thick just stir in a tablespoon or two of water to make it more pourable and syrupy.
• Serve everything cold but the meringues can stay at room temp.
• If you’re not serving them right away store everything individually in the fridge in air-tight containers until you are ready to serve. It will last like this for 3 days.
• I’m at about 5,000 ft above sea level and I find that my recipes work for most people who live at about 3,000-7,000 ft above sea level.

Enjoy!

Print

Mini Berry Pavlovas

Ingredients

For the Pavlova:

• 5 egg whites
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla bean paste or extract
• 1 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1 tsp. cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp salt

For the sauce:

• 1 pint blackberries
• 1 pint raspberries
• 1 tbs lemon zest
• 1 tbs lemon juice
• 1 tbs sugar
• 1/2 tbs cornstarch
• 1/8 tsp salt

For the whipped cream:

• 1 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 3 tbs powdered sugar
• 1 tbs instant vanilla pudding optional
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

For the Pavlova:

1. Preheat your oven to 225 degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together the egg whites and sugar over a double-boiler until the sugar is completely dissolved, about 5 minutes. Then transfer the mixture to your mixer, or use an electric hand mixer. Use the whisk attachment to whip the mixture on medium speed for about 8-10 minutes, or until it’s become very thick, and the mixture has cooled completely. You should have stiff peaks at this point. Then fold in the vanilla bean paste, cream of tartar, cornstarch, and salt until well combined.
2. Use an ice cream scoop or two spoons to scoop large mounds of the meringue onto your prepared baking sheet. Then, using a spoon, make a divot in the middle of each meringue (think like mashed potatoes). You don’t need to leave much space between them as they will only slightly puff while baking. Bake the meringues in your preheated oven for 1 hour, and then turn the oven off and leave the meringues in the oven with the door shut for another hour. Don’t open the oven door for the entire bake and cool time!

For the sauce:

1. In a medium saucepan, stir together the blackberries, raspberries, lemon zest, lemon juice, sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Cook the mixture over low-medium heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens slightly, about 8-10 minutes. It should be the consistency of a thick syrup. Set the mixture aside to cool completely.

For the whipped cream:

1. In a medium bowl, whip the heavy cream until it starts to thicken. Add in the powdered sugar, instant pudding mix, and vanilla extract, and continue to whip the mixture until it forms medium peaks. You can be flexible here, I prefer stiff peaks in my whipped cream, but soft peaks work as well!

To assemble:

1. Gently pull the meringues free from the parchment paper. Spoon a generous amount of whipped cream into the divots you made in the meringues before baking. Then top with your berry syrup, and optionally add more fresh berries to the top! To store, keep each element separated in the fridge in air-tight containers until you are ready to serve. Enjoy!

Dough-Eyed

Hello and welcome! My name is Nicole, and Dough-eyed is a food blog for people who want to bake for their family and friends in high-altitude areas. Think of me as a friendly voice there with you in the kitchen, here to give you confidence when you’re baking, and to help you with the struggles of baking at high-altitude. Come back every week for new recipes, tips, and advice on high-altitude baking!