Pavlova is a graceful, beautiful, and romantic dessert. It is perfect for Valentine’s Day or any dinner party (you can make pavlovas ahead!). The texture is crisp on the outside with a marshmallow-soft inside, and they are piled high with whipped cream and fruit. Watch the video tutorial below.
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
What is Pavlova?
I had my facts all wrong about Pavlova; it’s not Russian, but named after a Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova. There is a great debate about who made it first; Australia or New Zealand, but everyone can agree they are melt-in-your-mouth delicious.
Pavlova is a show-stopping meringue dessert and it’s easier than you think. It is made of egg whites, sugar, corn starch, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. Once baked, a crisp exterior forms around the soft centers. To serve, pavlovas are topped with lightly sweetened whipped cream and studded with plenty of fresh berries. You can make pavlovas as a Big Pavlova Cake or as these easy to serve mini pavlovas.
How to Bring Eggs to Room Temperature:
If your egg whites are not at room temperature, place them in a bowl and set over a second bowl of warm (not hot) water for 15 minutes. Tip: The yolks separate easier from the whites if you use chilled eggs.
Can I Substitute Corn Starch?
Corn starch is vital to the overall result of this recipe. It helps form the crisp exterior and marshmallow-soft interior. Do not omit the cornstarch. I haven’t tested substituting, but one of our readers reported great results using potato starch.
Can I Make Pavlovas Ahead?
You can make the pavlova meringues up to 3 days ahead of time and store loosely wrapped in a plastic bag (in a low-humidity area) then assemble just before your event. Once they are assembled the frosting starts to soften the meringues and they should be eaten within 4 hours of assembling.
Tips for Making Mini Pavlovas:
- Fully preheat your oven and bake right away or pavlovas can start melting or form a layer of brown sugar after baking at the bottom.
- If using this large 3/4 baking sheet, you can fit them all on one sheet, otherwise, bake on 2 separate baking sheets in the top and bottom thirds of your oven.
- Make sure to use parchment paper for easy removal from the baking sheet (do not use wax paper – it sticks like crazy).
- Use your stand mixer for the most effective mixing. If using an electric hand mixer, you may need to add 2 minutes to the mixing time for stiff, smooth and glossy peaks to form. Do not attempt to hand whisk – yikes!
- Pipe meringue 3 to 3 1/2 inches wide onto the parchment paper using a Wilton 1M Tip. Indent the center with a spoon to allow room for cream.
- Let pavlovas rest in the warm oven 30 minutes before removing from the oven to ensure the exterior dries appropriately.
What are the Best Toppings for Pavlova?
The fruit toppings for pavlova are endless. You will want about 4 to 5 cups of fresh fruit or berries. Our favorite options are:
- Blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries
- Kiwi
- Mango
- Stone Fruit: peaches, plums, apricots, nectarines
- Mint leaves, to garnish
More Easy and Impressive Valentines Desserts:
If you’re working on a Valentine’s Day menu, make sure you check out all our Valentine’s Recipes. Some of our favorite romantic desserts are:
- Tiramisu Cake – the authentic version
- Affogato – Italian coffee ice cream treat
- Strawberry Shortcake – so simple and tasty
- Chocolate Mousse – as classic as it gets
- Eclairs – with custard filling
- Strawberry Sauce – to pour over everything
Watch Pavlova Recipe Video Tutorial:
These mini pavlovas have a cloud-like meringue that literally melts in your mouth. The tart berries cut the sweetness just right so I always add a generous amount. Serve these at your next party and they will be flying off the plate. They are well-loved by adults and children.
Pavlova Recipe
Ingredients
For Pavlova:
- 6 large egg whites, room temperature
- 1.5 cups granulated sugar
- 2 tsp corn starch
- 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract
For Cream:
- 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream, (very cold)
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
For Topping/Decor:
- 4-5 cups fresh fruit, blueberries, kiwi, raspberries, sliced strawberries, etc
- 15 Mint leaves , for garnish, optional
Instructions
How to Make Pavlova:
- Preheat the Oven to 225˚ F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Using your stand mixer, beat 6 egg whites on high speed 1 min until soft peaks form. With the mixer on, gradually add 1 1/2 cups sugar and beat 10 min on high speed, or until stiff peaks form. It will be smooth and glossy.
- Use a spatula to quickly fold in 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice and 1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract, then fold in 2 tsp corn starch and mix until well blended.
- Pipe meringue into 3 to 3 1/2 inches wide nests onto the parchment paper using a Wilton 1M Tip. Indent the center with a spoon to allow room for cream. Bake at 225˚ for 1 hr and 15 min then turn the oven off and without opening the door, let meringue in the hot oven another 30 min. Outsides will be dry and crisp to the tap and very pale cream-colored and insides will still be marshmallow soft.
- Transfer the pavlova with the parchment paper onto the counter or a cookie rack and allow it to cool to room temp. Once cool, you can top them with whipped cream and fruit or store in an airtight container for 3-5 days at room temperature (in a low humidity place).
How to Make Frosting and Assemble Pavlovas:
- Beat cold whipping cream with 2 Tbsp sugar in the cold bowl for 2 to 2 1/2 minutes or until whipped and spreadable.
- Pipe frosting onto the pavlova and top with fresh fruit.*
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Recipe updated January 2020 to include more tips and tricks for mastering the perfect pavlova.
Have you tried the Pavlova? What are YOUR favorite toppings?
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
I’ve made these a few times and each time they turned out burned and crispy throughout. :/ I’ve been following everything exactly by the recipe. The only difference is that I’m using organic cane sugar bc that’s all I have on hand currently. Do I need to reduce the oven temp or length of time I bake them? Or both?
Oh wow! Burned and crispy definitely means your oven is way too hot. They should be white when they are baked. Definitely turn down the heat of your oven. Are you certain you set your oven to Farenheight and NOT CELCIUS? Also, are you using a convection oven? This recipe is intend for regular conventional oven settings. I’ve tried using organic cane sugar that was more coarse than regular white granulated sugar and it did not work well for me – the meringue was cream colored and not smooth when it came out of the oven. If using cane sugar, make sure to process it in a food processor to reach the consistency of granulated sugar, but if the color of the sugar is darker, the meringue color will be off. I hope that helps you when making meringue in the future!
Thank you for replying so quickly. I’ve been using organic cane sugar that is similar to the consistency of regular granulated. Thank you for the suggestion to process it. I didn’t think of that. My oven is also really old, so maybe that might be an issue also.. is it okay to open the oven as they are baking and check on them to see when they are done?
Sorry, meant to leave 5 stars not 4 but it won’t let me go back to change that 🙁
Thank you Nadia! 🙂 I appreciate that 🙂
Hi Nadia, if you don’t have an internal oven thermometer to gauge what the true temp of your oven is, that’s probably the next best way to make sure they don’t burn. They should not noticeably change color while baking. I hope you have success next time! 🙂
I keep seeing these pavlovas at my friends parties and I finally found the recipe and tried it myself. They were so good! Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Ha ha! That’s awesome! I see this pretty often at my friends parties as well – it’s quite a compliment when one of your recipes becomes a favorite among your own friends ;). Thanks for the great review!
Hello! I’m having a little trouble here.. I beat the eggs and got amazing peaks but once I incorporated the vinilla lemon juice and corn starch it all turned liquidy and wouldn’t hold its shape! I ended up making macaroon looking ones /: what did I do wrong? Was to possible to over beat? I didn’t wait long at all to start piping…Also not a fan of the in these, I feel like there is way too much!
Hi Anna, that is the first report I’ve had of that happening but I’m always happy to help torubleshoot! Did you use the correct proportions of vanilla and lemon juice and fold it in quickly with a spatula (not the mixer)? It’s either using too much, overmixing after adding the vanilla and lemon and corn starch or not beating the eggs enough before adding the liquids. Did you beat the meringue for the proper amount of time on high speed using a high powered mixer? They should pipe easily as shown in the video. Did your meringue look like mine in the video before adding the liquid ingredients? I hope that helps!!
I had a similar problem, although I wouldn’t say that mine got liquidy–just lost some of the stiffness. When I piped it, it turned into mounds instead of peaks, and I couldn’t create indentations. I followed the directions exactly and used an oven thermometer. The only change I made was to double the recipe, but I didn’t add the vanilla and lemon juice until there were stiff peaks. They taste delicious and I think that the whipped cream will cover up the problem to some extent. Any suggestions for next time?
I wonder if maybe it had to do with doubling the recipe? If you double the recipe, you would need to increase the mixing time in order to achieve the stiff peaks and for it to pipe correctly. I hope that helps for next time!
I mixed it until there were stiff peaks. It only softened after adding the vanilla and lemon juice. I would like to be able to try this again with success!
I want to update this now that I assembled and served them. Although the meringues flopped when I piped them, the whipped cream covered this, and they looked beautiful. I received lots of compliments from my guests. I did find the meringues too sweet, and the funny thing is that I refrigerated several assembled leftover Pavlovas and although the meringues did soften a bit, they also tasted less sweet, which I liked.
Hi Andrea, the meringues do seem less sweet once they are combined with the lightly sweetened whipped cream and the tangy fruit. I’m so glad you liked it 🙂
Making them right now.. I got 30 out of this portion. They are are pretty big 😀
The more the better! Thanks for sharing Inna 🙂
Hi Natasha,
Your recipe was amazing,I mean the egg white batter was just so pretty and it looked like it’s going to be the the perfect mini pavlova,But then I had to go somewhere in an emergency without baking the pavlova.I left the house at 5:30 pm and I only returned at 11:30 am (the next day) and when I came back and took a look at the batter,I tried to beat it and stuff and now It has all soft peaks and it isn’t holding it’s shape at all.
What did I do wrong ?
What do you suggest I do?
Thanks
Hajrah Khan
Leaving the meringue out without baking it will ruin the meringue and it is not repairable after that. You would have to re-beat the meringue with fresh ingredients…
Ok,Thanks For your feedback
I beat the meringue For a long time and it eventually came right
Kind Regards
Hajrah
Oh wow that’s great!! I’m happy to hear that! 🙂
Hi Natasha! I made this recipe a while back and it turned out great. We just had it as is, no fruit or whipped cream, because we were so impatient to just eat it haha. I made them using a regular electric oven, and i was wondering what kind of adjustment i would have to do when using a convection oven instead. Should i reduce temperature? Thank you! I love your blog <3
Hi Evgenia, I’m so happy you loved the recipe!! Meringues work best in a conventional oven, otherwise they may not form properly since a convection oven bakes faster. I would recommend sticking with a conventional oven for best results.
I’m thinking of making them in a few days. What can I add instead of a corn starch?
Hi Liana, I’ve never tested it any other way so I can’t really recommend anything. Come to think of it, I’ve also never seen anything else used for pavlova besides corn starch. I think it is important to get the right marshmallow soft consistency in the center.
Should I leave the eggs white at room temperature to age them?
Hi Liana, it isn’t necessary in this recipe.
Hi Natasha! How do I make mine come out just as white as yours? Mine always seem to have a slightly darker color. I’m not over baking them because they still taste great but I just can’t seem to get them as white as yours!:/
Hi Anna, are you possibly using a convection oven or the convection bake mode? Does your oven tend to run hot? If so, you might reduce the temperature. The only reason I can think of that it would be darker is if your oven was too hot. I hope that helps! 🙂
I tried these today to see if I can make them smaller for my bridal shower and they turned out great! I made them 1.5 in x 1.5 in and baked them for 45 mins! Then I put cream on top, with chopped roasted nuts instead of fruit. Delicious! Thanks Natasha!
Thank you for sharing!! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
Hi Natasha!
How large do you normally pipe them? I’m making them for the first time this weekend for an office Valentine’s dessert event. I’m very excited because I love pavlovas, but also nervous. I’ve been revisiting the recipe this whole week.
Also, is it okay to store the whip cream in the piping bag (in a container) until I prepare the pavlovas? I don’t generally have whip cream so I am very unfamiliar!
Thank you for being so responsive!
Hi Alexandra, the pavlovas are about 3 to 3 1/2 inches wide and you should get a total of 14 to 15 pavlovas with this recipe. It’s easier to gauge the size/shape if you watch the video. I hope that helps! 🙂 You can store the whipped cream in the refrigerator for a few hours. I usually just whip the cream before assembling the pavlovas because it’s so quick to make whipped cream and literally takes 2 minutes. I hope you love these!
Hi Ally, that is unusual, but I’m always happy to help troubleshot. Did you pipe them the same size? They are supposed to be marshmallow soft on the inside and firm to the tap on the outside. Also, are you baking at high altitude or are you using a gas oven or a convection setting? Is there anything you changed in the recipe or process?
I made these pretties few times and both times they turned out amazing! Too bad I can’t post pictures here!
Share them on my Facebook! Let everyone admire what you’ve done!!
Hi Natasha, can I use half and half for the frosting or will it not whip up the same way?
Hi Lana, half and half does not whip the same way – It will froth but it won’t whip into a cream.
amazing!!! Finally had the soft centre thanks will continue to use this recipe so yum!!!
You are very welcome Steph 😬 and thank you for sharing your results.
Hi Natasha! Love all of your recipes!:)
Can the meringues be made 2 days in advance? How should I store them? Air tight container at room temp?
I would like to make just the meringue part couple of days before. And then make the cream and assemble before serving. Would that work? Thank you!:)
Hi Anna, yes that would work to make them 2 days in advance and store them in a cool dry place (not a humid place and never refrigerate). Assemble them just before serving since the cream will make the meringue soft as it sits. You could use an airtight container or something like a cake carrier, or put them on a baking sheet and cover with plastic bags (which I’ve done before :-O). 😉
Thanks so much for the quick reply!
Hi Natasha,
My oven is a little smaller so only one pan can be baked at one time. how about the balance meringue? while waiting for the ones in the oven finished baking should i pipe them in advance and let them sit at the counter or put in fridge..? appreciate your suggestion. 😀
Hi Syira, It won’t work to have meringue sitting out – they start to melt and turn gooey at the base (I’ve had that happen before). I would suggest mixing it in batches if it needs to be baked in batches.
Your pavlova recipe is perfection! Perfect little berry studded melt in your mouth clouds of sweetness! 😋😍
Im making them again- but I forgot to pick up lemon for lemon juice at the store this time- can I use vinegar as substitute? I’m just nervous they’ll taste vinegar-y…
Thank you so much for your recipes and help in advance!!!:)
Hi Nadia, I’m so happy you like it! 🙂 I haven’t tried it personally, but I have seen other recipes online using vinegar so I assume it’s ok, but I haven’t tested it myself.
Hi Natasha. Love all of your recipes! Thank you so much!
I made these pavlovas and they turned out absolutely delicious. Everyone loved them!
We ate them within 3 hours and the whipping cream frosting was starting to run. Perhaps it was warm in the room. I would like to make them again. Is there a way that they can be made in advance and hold up better? Can I assemble them and put them in the fridge for about 4 hours before serving? Or will frosting get runny?
Or can I make the frosting and leave it in the fridge and pipe it before serving? What do you recommend? Thank you!:)
Hi Anna, with pavlova, it’s best to eat it soon after assembling. Once the cream is on the pavlova, it will start to soften the meringue and the longer it sits, the more it dissolves the meringue. You can make the pavlova a day ahead, just don’t put on the frosting or fruit until ready to serve.
Thank you!
This is a great recipe. I have never made Pavlova before and I followed the directions exactly and they turned out great – Thanks for an easy, great recipe!
Hi Sara, thank you so much for sharing your wonderful review! 🙂
I had a great time making these pavlovas just yesterday! I piped out my pavlovas about “1 1/2 in wide and the recipe made about 21 pavlovas for me. Very happy with results. Beautiful and light dessert. Thank you for the recipe! 👍
Karen, thank you for the nice review and you are welcome 😀.
I’ve just made these mereignes they’ve been in 10min and look burnt my oven is fan assisted on 225 but that seems so hot for the length of time what have I done wrong
Hi April, it sounds like you have a convection oven? These are not meant to be made in a convection oven which circulates the air and cooks foods faster – they need the slow heating and the circulating hot air can discolor the outside of the pavlova. I haven’t tested them in a convection oven so I can’t really say how to adjust the heat settings for pavlova using convection. The recipe is written for using a regular conventional oven in the regular baking mode.
Hi~ Nice recipe
I have one question..
How many grams 1.5c is ??
1.5 cups is 300 grams of white sugar.