The Pavlova is a show-stopper; both with how it looks and how it tastes! Any time I have egg whites to use, you can bet that a Pavlova is on the horizon! The crisp meringue base, topped with whipped cream is a versatile and inspiring canvass for any variation you can imagine. Your stand mixer and oven do most of the work and everyone will think you a master of confections!

For the Meringue

Ingredients:
– 4 egg whites
– 1 tsp vanilla extract
– 2 tsp corn starch
– 1 tsp white vinegar
– 1 cup granulated sugar

How I make it:
– Preheat oven to 350 degrees
– Beat egg whites & salt in stand mixer with whisk attachment until glossy peaks form
– Add sugar slowly (1 Tbsp at a time) and continue to beat until fully incorporated.
– Fold corn starch, vanilla, & vinegar with a rubber spatula until just combined
– Pour meringue onto parchment-lined cookie sheet and use spatula to carefully spread it into the desired shape and size (keeping in mind that it will expand somewhat in the oven). I usually like to make a freeform circle.
– Place in oven and immediately reduce temperature to 300 degrees.
– Bake 1 hour 15 minutes at 300 and allow to cool completely before moving to serving platter and adding the whipped cream and toppings.

For the Whipped Cream

Ingredients:
– 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
– 2 Tbsp granulated sugar

How I make it:
– Beat cream and sugar on high in stand mixer with whisk attachment until soft peaks form.
– Pour into the middle of the meringue (that has come to room temperature) and spread across the top, allowing a border of meringue to peek out around the whipped, then top with fruit, chocolate shavings, or topping of your choice.

Blueberry Topping:

For the Pavlova pictured above, I combined a pint of blueberries with the zest and juice of half a lemon and let them macerate while the meringue cooked. Once the meringue was completely cooled and topped with the whipped cream, I spooned the blueberry mixture on the top of the whipped cream.

Variations:
-Flavor the meringue and cream with any flavor extract or lemon zest.
-Toppings to try: Any fruit (with or without juice); chocolate shavings, chunks, or chips; cookie crumbs; toffee pieces; broken candy bars…anything that you like with whipped cream!

Tips:
* Using a topping with acidity such as the blueberries with lemon juice in the pic above provides a lovely balance to the rich sweet cream.
* Don’t forget to taste the whipped cream & toppings as you go (to make sure that an added pinch of sugar isn’t needed)
* This is an ideal dessert to make with the leftover egg whites from Carbonara!

I love coming up with different versions of this recipe depending on what I have on hand. I hope you’ll be inspired and let me know what variations you make!

Happy Eating!