Festive Pavlovas with Berries & Cream

Mini festive pavlovas with a marshmallow center topped with clouds of whipped cream and berries are a delightful Christmas dessert.

If you have space after, what is bound to be, quite an enormous Christmas meal, I have three fabulous desserts for you that are all relatively easy to pull off and are all guaranteed to impress your guests. The first is this fabulous pavlova. I don’t know why but Pavlovas have become quite synonymous with Christmas for me. Perhaps because we have such beautiful berries in abundance at this time of the year which adorn the snow-white pavlovas so beautifully.

What I also love about serving pavlova for dessert on a day where things can get quite hectic in the kitchen, is that it can be made a few days before and kept in a air-tight container until you’re ready to serve (I usually make them the day before).

I love how the crust of the pavlova disappears in an almost ‘puff’ to reveal a sticky, gooey centre of almost marshmallow-like meringue. Topped with Chantilly cream (cream whipped with vanilla and sugar) and a tart berry coulis of sorts, this makes for the perfect festive dessert.

Festive Pavlovas with Berries & Cream

Mini festive pavlovas with a marshmallow center topped with clouds of whipped cream and berries are a delightful Christmas dessert.

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Course: Dessert

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Servings: 10

Author: Alida Ryder

Ingredients

• 6 extra-large egg whites
• 300 g caster sugar
• 2 tablespoons corn flour
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

for the berry sauce

• 2 cups berries of your choice I used black berries
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons water

to serve

• whipped cream sweetened with a little sugar
• fresh cherries (or other berries of your choice

Instructions

• Pre-heat the oven to 180°c and line a large baking sheet with baking paper.
• Whisk the egg whites until light and frothy.
• Add the sugar, spoon by spoon while whisking until the egg whites are glossy and stiff.
• Sift in the corn flour and fold in with the vinegar and vanilla.
• Place spoonfuls of the mixture on the baking paper-lined tray and place in the oven.
• Immediately turn the temperature down to 110°c and allow to bake for 45 minutes until the meringues are firm but still chewy in the centre.
• Open the oven door and allow the meringues to cool completely.
• To make the berry sauce, combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and allow to simmer until thick and reduced.
• To serve, top the meringues with whipped cream, berry sauce & fresh cherries.
• Serve immediately.