The Perfect Pavlova Recipe.   (2024)

FAQs

What happens if you overbeat pavlova? ›

Overbeating egg white breaks down the structure and the meringue is likely to collapse during baking. Beat until firm peaks form, then start adding sugar. If the egg white starts to separate or looks curdled, it's overbeaten and you'll need to start again with fresh egg whites.

To get that perfect pavlova texture you bake the meringue mixture initially at a relatively higher temperature to help set the outside of the pavlova and give a nice crisp crust. The temperature is then turned down low and baked slowly. This prevents the pavlova turning crunchy and also keeps it bright and white.

Adding the sugar too quickly can deflate the mixture, which means you will have a less airy pavlova. If you mix in the sugar too quickly, then you risk adding too much air quickly, which can also destabilize the meringue.

It's important to add the sugar slowly on a medium speed to allow the sugar to fully dissolves without over whipping the eggs. Get this wrong and your pavlova will weep and is more likely to crack. Set a time for 2 minutes every time you add sugar and whip on a medium setting.

Bake the meringue: Bake for 60 to 70 minutes for 1 large pavlova, or 50 to 60 minutes for mini-pavlovas. The pavlovas are done when the outsides are dry to the touch. The interior of a properly cooked pavlova should be marshmallowy. It's fine if cracks form in the crust.

The acid will actually help stabilise your whipped whites too. That's why we add cream of tartar to our pavlova recipes. If you use a little more vinegar in the meringue, you'll encourage a soft centre and a crisp shell.

Most meringue mixtures, such as Nigella's Mini Pavlovas (from HOW TO BE A DOMESTIC GODDESS) are a mixture of whisked egg whites and sugar, giving a glossy white meringue. If the meringue has turned slightly silver or pale grey then it is possible this is due to aluminium, though it is very rare for this to happen.

Pavlova shell isn't crisp: is it humid? Pavlovas love to soak up moisture, so avoid making them on humid days. Egg whites won't whip: make sure your metal or glass mixing bowl is completely clean and dry, with no oily residue.

Adding sugar before whipping was also not ideal, leading to cakes that baked up a bit too dry. In the case of the meringues, adding the sugar at the start of mixing produced a cookie that was dull on the exterior, with a too-fine crumb within.

You can also leave the pavlova in your oven overnight. Don't be concerned if your pavlova has cracked. This is completely normal. Taking the pavlova out of the oven right away will subject it to a dramatic change in temperature, which may cause it to collapse.

Why did my pavlova crack in the oven? ›

Basically, cracks are either a result of the air trapped inside the meringue inflating OR deflating. It goes both ways! The cracking can happen during baking as a result of a few things - air pockets expanding too quickly during the bake, forcing its way through the crust.

If the meringue is a lot flatter after baking then it is possible that the egg whites were whisked too much. The extra air expands in the oven and can overstretch the cells of whisked egg white, causing them to break and the meringue to collapse.

However if the pavlova is collapsing completely it could be too soft. If it is wet or humid weather then this can affect a meringue and make it very soft. Also the baking sheet should be lined with non-stick baking parchment (parchment paper) to help the meringue to release more easily.

Like most merengues, getting the texture just right isn't always easy. While some cracking is normal and expected, meringue can sometimes split with crevices that look more like faults on a tectonic plate, and that's not ideal.

You can't overbeat meringue – It's true! You can't ruin it by mixing too much, so once all of the sugar is added, be sure that it is glossy and that you have super firm, stiff peaks when you remove the beater from the mixer. Don't be afraid to mix a little longer if it appears too soft.

Over whip the egg whites and you risk making them too firm and they will risk losing the moisture that they hold. This will affect your meringue's crispness, as well as making it more likely to collapse or weep beads of sugar. As my meringue guru Gary Mehigan advises: “If you over whip the egg whites you cannot fix it.

To fix broken, overbeaten egg whites, you can add an additional white and whisk briefly, just to incorporate its moisture into the original group. But don't take it too far or you'll be back where you started.

If you do happen to overbeat your meringue (which may end up looking clumpy and watery) you can try to save it by adding another egg white.