A showstopper for Easter – with an easy homemade meringue, freshly whipped cream, fruit and easter chocolates, why not make this Easter pavlova?!
We all know how much I love a showstopper when it comes to the baking world, and as I have said countless times now, I just adore Easter baking. I wanted to combine this to make a dessert for Easter that was not a cake… so here is my Easter Pavlova!
I have put several meringue related recipes on to my blog now, and I just love them. They always look good, and generally are a crowd pleaser. My spring pavlova and my pavlova Christmas wreath always go down well, along with my mini easter meringues from last year – but I wanted something new that combined them all!
Meringue
I love the look of the wreath, so even though it’s not Christmas any more, it’s just a nice way of displaying a pavlova in my opinion. I used the same meringue mixture with the egg whites, caster sugar, and a little white wine vinegar and cornflour to make the meringue (you can also add vanilla to flavour it here if you wanted).
When you make the meringue mixture you want to make sure that the equipment you are using is spotlessly clean so that you don’t accidentally kill your meringue mixture. Even the tiniest bit of grease or something can kill a meringue, so make sure the bowl and whisk are clean – you can wipe it down with a bit of lemon juice to make this happen as well!
This meringue is meant to be crisp on the outside, soft in the centre like marshmallow and absolutely delightfully light and delicious.
Meringue ingredients
I used cartoned egg whites because I find it easier, but if you separate your eggs like normal, you need to make sure that the egg shell doesn’t go into the egg whites, or even a bit of yolk. I tend to separate my eggs into a smaller bowl, and then add into the large bowl to make sure there is no contamination.
I use my stand mixer when I make meringue because I am a little bit lazy, but also it’s just so easy. You add the egg whites and whisk them to stiff peaks, and then start adding in the caster sugar slowly. I use a teaspoon to make sure it’s whisking in well, but you just let it whisk and do its thing whilst it goes.
The white wine vinegar and cornflour is optional, but I prefer it. It changes the texture of the meringue and makes it wonderfully marshmallow like in the middle, but still crunchy on the outside – and the vanilla is optional too. I just love adding vanilla to everything and anything I can, if you haven’t noticed already.
Piping meringue
I decided to pipe my meringue onto my tray this time because I really did want a pretty pattern, and even though you end up covering half the pattern with whipped cream and decoration, you can still see it on the sides. It’s also a good way to practice piping skills because it doesn’t matter if it looks a little weird!
I used my favourite 2d closed star piping tip to do this because it’s just the best ever and no-one can make me change my mind – but on a LARGE lined tray (with the parchment paper stuck down with a little meringue) I just followed a circle pattern and piped away.
However, you can of course just dollop the meringue onto to the tray and roll with it like other pavlovas (my christmas pavlova wreath does this) and both methods work very well.
Baking meringue
Meringues are baked at a lower temperature than most things, because you want to cook the egg white, but not over bake the meringue at the same time. I bake mine at 130ºc in my fan oven, but if you find yours browns your meringue you can lower the temperature next time.
Sometimes meringues/pavlovas can crack, but at the end of the day though, some cracks in a pavlova is not the end of the world so please don’t worry too much. It’s a classic part of meringue. If you do find that your pavlova does completely collapse, this often means the meringue wasn’t baked for long enough so you may need to increase the timing next time you try one.
Topping & Decoration
Baking the meringue takes a little while, but it’s worth it. And you have to make sure to let it cool and not rush it. Once the meringue is baked and cooled, you can just have fun – the whipped cream is easy… whip together double cream and a little icing sugar to soft peaks and dollop all over the meringue!
I used a mixed of any easter chocolates I had (I tend to make a giant mixed tub up at the beginning of my easter baking and use as I go), and then I used some fresh berries because it’s always a good mix with cream and meringue, and it also looks super pretty for the showstopping dessert.
It’s so easy, it’s so good. I hope you love it! Enjoy! x
Easter Pavlova!
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Ingredients
For the Meringue
- 6 medium egg whites
- 300 g caster sugar
- 1 tsp white wine vinegar
- 1 tsp cornflour
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the Filling
- 450 ml double cream
- 2 tbsp icing sugar
- fruit – strawberries, raspberries, blueberries etc!
- freeze dried raspberries
- Easter chocolates
Instructions
Meringue
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Preheat the oven to 150ºc/130ºfan. Line a LARGE baking tray with baking parchment.
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In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks.
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Start adding the caster sugar 1tsp at a time. Once all of the sugar is incorporated it should be glossy.
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One at a time, whisk in the white wine vinegar, then the cornflour, then the vanilla extract and whisk until smooth.
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Draw two circles onto your parchment paper – a large one and a small one in the middle. Stick the parchment paper to the tray slightly with a small amount of meringue to help it not move about
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Pipe the meringue onto the tray with whatever piping tip you fancy (or, dollop it on with spoons).
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Bake the meringue in the oven for 1 hour – turn off the heat of the oven and leave to cool completely in the oven, without opening the door. I bake my meringues late at night, and leave them to cool overnight to make things easier.
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Prepare your fruit – chop up any fruits such as the strawberries, and clean all the berries thoroughly! Whip up the double cream with the icing sugar to soft peaks.
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Spread/dollop/pipe the whipped up cream onto the meringue and then add the fruit and chocolates on top! Enjoy!
Notes
- The meringue itself can be made in advance and stored at room temperature, but it is very delicate. I usually make the meringue in the evening and store in the oven (turned off) till I decorate in the morning.
- Once decorated this lasts 2+ days in the fridge!
- I used this large baking tray
- I used this piping tip
- I use this stand mixer
ENJOY!
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J x
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