The first time I had this dessert was 11 years ago when I was working as a Demi-Chef in Quaglinos Restaurant in London. It gave me an impression that desserts can be simple and luxurious at the same time. With its sweet crispy meringue crust, a soft (not chewy) marshmallow center, topped generously with chantilly cream, and abundance of seasonal fresh fruits, the Strawberry Paplova is definitely a luxurious dessert, but the process of doing it is surprisingly simple. Follow this recipe and you’ll have a delicious and stunning masterpiece.
Strawberry Pavlova
With its sweet crispy meringue crust, a soft (not chewy) marshmallow center, topped generously with chantilly cream, and abundance of seasonal fresh fruits, the Strawberry Paplova is definitely a luxurious dessert, but the process of doing it is surprisingly simple. Follow this recipe and you’ll have a delicious and stunning masterpiece.
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RateServings: 12
Ingredients
- 6 Egg Whites
- 1 1/2 cups Caster Sugar
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2 tsp White Vinegar
- 1 tbsp Cream of Tartar
Strawberry Coulis
- 250 gms Fresh Strawberries washed and stems removed
- 1/4 cup White Granulated Sugar
- 1/4 cup Water
- 2 tsp Lemon Juice optional
Strawberry Buttercream
- 1/2 cup Unsalted Butter diced
- 4 tbsp Strawberry Coulis
- 1/2 cup Unsalted Butter
- 1/2 cup Powdered Sugar
- 1/4 cup Whipping Cream
Garnish
- 1/2 cup Fresh Strawberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 120 degrees Celsius.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Draw three 6-inch circle on the parchment paper.
- In a large bowl of an electric mixer, using the mixer attachment and on medium speed, whisk egg whites until stiff but not dry. Be sure not to overbeat the egg whites as it will lose volume and deflate when folded into other ingredients.
- Lower down the speed of the electric mixer and gradually add in the sugar, about 1 tablespoon at a time, beating well after each addition. Whisk until thick and glossy.
- Gently fold in vanilla extract and cream of tartar. Stir in the white vinegar.
- Spoon mixture inside the circle drawn on the parchment paper, or you can fill a piping bag with the mixture and pipe out the meringue into the parchment paper. Working from the center, spread mixture toward the outside edge, giving pavlova with a twirl towards the center, this will achieve a great shape.
- Bake for 2 hours. The pavlovas are done when outside is crisp, tap the meringue shell and if there is a hollow sound, it means the inside is still soft.
- Cool completely on a wire rack without removing from the paper. About 40-60 minutes.
Strawberry Coulis
- In a medium saucepan, combine strawberries, water sugar, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil over medium heat.
- Transfer to a blender and process until smooth. Strain through a fine sieve, and set aside. Chill in the fridge until ready to use.
- Strawberry Buttercream
- Using a mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy.
- Turn off the mixer and stir in the powdered sugar slowly until well combined – this will prevent powdered sugar from flying everywhere.
- Turn on the mixer again to lower speed. Add the cream, strawberry coulis, and vanilla extract.
- Increase to medium speed and beat for 3 minutes until the buttercream is smooth.
Assemble
- Remove the pavlova from the parchment paper. Assemble this on your serving plate.
- Start with the first layer and slather with buttercream. Put the 2nd layer of pavlova on top. Press down lightly to avoiding cracking the fragile pavlova. Put the third layer on top. Place the strawberries on top and pour the strawberry coulis.
Notes
- When you have excess strawberry coulis, place them in an airtight container and keep in the freezer. The coulis can maintain high quality for 3-5 months at -18° C (0° F).
- Fat: is the enemy of meringue. Egg yolk, grease or oil are the reasons why egg whites do not achieve a stable foam and prevent from reaching their maximum volume.
- Eggs: Old eggs are better in making meringues. When the egg ages, it gives you more relaxed proteins, and egg white thins, making the egg whites easier to beat and gives you maximum volume. Eggs should be at room temperature. When separating the egg yolk from egg white, make sure there is no yolk into the bowl at all. Fat will prevent egg whites from forming a stable foam.
- Sugar: Use caster sugar when making meringues as it dissolves easier than granulated white sugar. It also helps meringue retain moisture. Caster sugar will give you more stable foam.
- Stabilizers: Many recipes have different stabilizers that help egg whites to maintain their volume and achieve the perfect texture (marshmallow like inside and crisp meringue shell outside). Acid, such as vinegar, lemon juice, and cream of tartar are good stabilizers. A few amounts of cornstarch is used as well to stabilize egg whites and help meringue to be whiter.
- Technique: There are recipes that have different techniques. With this recipe, I whip the egg whites to a soft peak and added the sugar gradually. When you add all the sugar in the egg whites and whisk them together, you will not be able to create maximum volume because the egg whites are heavy.
- Meringues must be baked right away after you whipped them. If you have small oven, make meringues in small batches. If you leave the whipped egg whites too long without baking them right away, the volume will collapse.
- Baking: Pavlova is usually baked at low temperature. Avoid opening the oven door during baking time to prevent the meringue from collapsing. When you set your oven at high temperature, the meringues will crack.
- Storage: Pavlovas or meringues can be baked ahead of time, and just do the final assembly before serving. Place them in an airtight container, arranging them in one layer, and store them at room temperature. Meringues can last for three days.
- Avoid making pavlovas or meringues on a humid day.
2 thoughts on “Strawberry Pavlova”
hi chef can paplova be stored in the ref after putting buttercream and other garnishing on top?
Don’t put it in the fridge, the best way to store a pavlova is to put it in a dry, airtight container and keep it somewhere that is cool and dry.