Pavlova is meringue with cream and berries. The usual failures: meringue that weeps syrup beads, cracks, or goes soggy before it is served. The first is undissolved sugar, the second a sudden temperature change, the third time: meringue and cream do not live together for long.
What it is made of
Top to bottom:
- Fresh strawberries ×2 · 1.0 cm
- Whipped cream ×2 · 1.2 cm
- Meringue layer ×2 · 3.5 cm
Two meringue discs with cream and strawberries between them and on top.
An honest note: classic pavlova is one large meringue nest with a crisp shell and a soft, marshmallow-like centre, topped with berries and cream. This version has two discs with fillings between them, which is closer to a layered meringue cake. Each disc is thinner, so there is little soft centre: crunchier, but it also softens faster. To keep a soft centre, cornflour and a little acid (lemon juice or vinegar) go into the meringue; here the builder lists the cornflour.
Order of work
Meringue (the day before or earlier): use a glass or metal bowl, not plastic, because a film of fat stops the foam; wipe it with vinegar. Whites at about 21 °C. Start on low speed with a pinch of salt. Use fine granulated sugar, not icing sugar, since the starch in icing sugar interferes with whipping, and add it in small portions until it has fully dissolved: rub a drop between your fingers, no grit. With a hand mixer that takes 15 to 20 minutes. Undissolved sugar later appears as brown beads on the surface. Fold in the cornflour at the end.
Spread two discs and bake low, about 100 to 120 °C, for 1 to 1.5 hours, until dry outside and easily lifted off the paper. Below 100 °C gives a whiter meringue. Cool in the switched-off oven with the door ajar: a sudden chill cracks it. (A meringue roll is different: it is not left to cool in the oven because it would dry out and needs to stay flexible.)
Assembly (30 to 60 minutes before serving):
- Whip the cream cold to soft peaks.
- Bottom disc, a layer of cream, strawberries dried on a towel.
- Top disc, cream, berries.
- Serve immediately.
Meringue absorbs moisture from cream and berries, so the cake softens and breaks. That is not a mistake, just time: keep the discs dry and assemble at the last moment.
What can go wrong
- Syrup beads on the meringue. The sugar did not dissolve.
- Cracks. Too hot, or cooled too sharply.
- Meringue collapsed or wept. Too little sugar, or fat got into the whites.
- Soggy cake. Assembled too early.
The verdict
Pavlova is dissolved sugar in the meringue and assembling just before serving. The rest is fresh cream and berries.