My Pavlova dessert recipe is an airy, cloud-like meringue that looks simply stunning on a plate and literally melts in your mouth. The texture is crisp on the outside and marshmallow-soft on the inside, and what’s more, the make-ahead recipe comes out perfectly, even for beginners!
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Helpful Reader Review
“I have made this recipe several times for my family. Never disappoints. SO good!! I use lemon curd, raspberries and Chantilly cream for mine. Unbelievably good!!” – Molly ★★★★★
Pavlova Video
I love the elegance of pavlova, and it doesn’t surprise me how often I see you all making this as a party dessert (I love seeing your posts on Instagram!). The single serve size keeps the Pavlova looking beautiful, unlike a large single Pavlova Cake, which always gets smooshed while slicing. It looks fancy, but I promise it’s simple to make when you follow my step-by-step instructions. Watch my video for all the tips!
Pavlova Recipe
What is Pavlova? There’s some debate about the origin of Pavlova, but the facts are – it’s a show-stopping meringue dessert, made by beating together egg whites and sugar. The addition of lemon juice and cornstarch helps form a smooth and crisp exterior, along with marshmallow-like soft centers. To serve, pavlovas are topped with lightly sweetened Whipped Cream and fresh berries.
Ingredients
Temperature and timing are important in this failproof pavlova recipe.
- Egg whites – room temperature – since the eggs separate from the yolk more easily when chilled, I prefer separating the egg whites into a bowl and then set it on top of a second bowl of warm water for 15 minutes. P.S. Save the yolks for my easy Hollandaise Sauce to top Eggs Benedict.
- Granulated Sugar – provides sweetness and structure so the dessert doesn’t collapse. I don’t recommend reducing the amount.
- Cornstarch – vital to form the crisp exterior and marshmallow-soft interior. You can substitute with potato starch.
- Lemon juice – adds a light, fresh flavor and prevents the sugar from forming crystals, creating a smooth meringue surface.
- Vanilla extract – adds perfect flavor. You can substitute with peppermint, almond, or lemon extract.
- Cream Topping – you’ll need granulated sugar and COLD Heavy whipping cream. You can even refrigerate your bowl before mixing.
Toppings for Pavlova
For this post, I used a mix of 4-5 cups of washed and dried berries and fresh mint leaves. The toppings for pavlova are endless:
- Berries – Blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, etc.
- Tropical fruits – kiwi, pineapple, or mango
- Stone fruit – peaches, plums, apricots, nectarines
- Garnish – fresh mint or basil
- Chocolate – a reader suggested painting the cup with Chocolate Ganache and adding chocolate shavings
- Saucy drizzle – Caramel Sauce, Strawberry Sauce, or Blueberry Sauce
- Jelly – Plum Jam or Peach Preserves
How to Make Pavlova
For pavlova meringue, I use my stand mixer. 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!
- Beat – Preheat the oven to 225°F and line an XL baking sheet or 2 cookie sheets with parchment. Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.
- Fold in the lemon juice, then vanilla, and finally cornstarch, until well blended.
- Pipe the meringue mixture into nests using a Wilton 1M Tip. Use the back of a spoon to indent the center. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, and then turn off the oven and leave it in there another 30 minutes to dry.
- Cool – transfer with the parchment paper to wire racks.
- Make Whipped Cream: Beat the cold heavy whipping cream with the sugar until light, airy, and pipeable.
- Assemble Pavlovas: Pipe the sweetened cream onto the cooled pavlova just before serving and top with fresh fruit.
Tips for the Best Pavlova
This easy pavlova dessert recipe comes out perfectly sweet and beautiful every time with these easy tips:
- Fully preheat your oven and bake right away; otherwise, pavlova can start melting or forming a layer of brown sugar 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. You’ll need enough space for air to circulate, but they don’t expand much.
- Make sure to use parchment paper for easy removal from the baking sheet (do not use wax paper – it sticks like crazy).
- Let pavlovas rest in the warm oven for 30 minutes before removing from the oven to ensure the exterior dries appropriately.
Make-Ahead and Storage
The individual parts can be can be made ahead, but once the pavlova is assembled, it’s best to enjoy within 4 hours since the cream will immediately start to soften the meringue.
- Make-Ahead: Make the meringue up to 3 days ahead and store loosely wrapped at room temperature (away from humidity). Store the whipped cream separately.
- Refrigerate Cream: Whipped cream refrigerates well in an airtight container for 2-3 days. Add cream to pavlovas just before serving.
- Freezing: Freezing pavlova can be tricky but you can store un-assembled meringue in the freezer, because it’s just dry enough to keep the meringue crispy. Store cooled meringue in the freezer in an airtight container. Thaw in the container for a few hours at room temperature before serving.
My fool-proof Mini Pavlova recipe makes show-stopper single-serve desserts and the mixer does most of the work for you. You’ll love how simply stunning these are when piled high with smooth whipped cream and tart berries. Try this recipe to impress your guests!
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
- Beat – Preheat the Oven to 225˚ F. Line a large 3/4 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 minutes on high speed, or until stiff peaks form. It will be smooth and glossy.
- Fold – 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 minutes, then turn the oven off and without opening the door, let the meringue sit in the hot oven another 30 minutes. Outsides will be dry and crisp to the touch and very pale cream-colored, and insides will still be marshmallow soft.
- Cool – Transfer the pavlova with the parchment paper onto the counter or a cookie rack and allow it to cool to room temperature.
- Make the Frosting – in a large, cold mixing bowl, combine cold whipping cream with 2 Tbsp sugar and beat on high speed for 2 to 2 1/2 minutes or until whipped and spreadable.
- Assemble Pavlovas – Pipe frosting onto the pavlova and top with fresh fruit or your desired toppings.
Notes
- Fruit – berries, mango chunks, kiwi slices, diced peaches, etc.
- Syrups – Chocolate Ganache, Caramel Syrup, Blueberry Sauce, Strawberry Sauce
- Herbs – mint or basil sprigs
- Make Meringue in advance, storing it loosely wrapped on the counter up to 3 days ahead. Avoid humidity.
- Make whipped cream 2-3 days in advance, storing it in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to assemble.
- Assembled pavlova should be eaten within 4 hours since the meringue will absorb moisture from the cream and soften.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
More Individual Desserts
I love making mini Pavlovas for parties because they’re easy to serve and impressive looking. Here are more single-serving, bite-sized desserts you’ll love:
- No-Bake Mini Cheesecakes
- Chocolate Covered Strawberries
- Creme Brûlée
- Lemon Posset
- Mini Chocolate Cupcakes
- Eclairs Recipe
- Homemade Cream Puffs
- Panna Cotta
- Eton Mess
- Chocolate Souffle
I tried these before and they turned out wonderful but I’m making them again and I had extra batter so I put it on another pan but the pan doesn’t fit on the same rack in the oven. What should I do with the extra pan that’s standing out while the first ones bake?
Hi Anna, I have a note on this in the “prep” section just before step 1, but it’s easily missed :). “(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 bottom third of your oven)” I hope that helps!
Hi Natasha
If they come out sticky, but inside fully baked what can be the problem?
Hi Diana, I haven’t had that occur, but it could be due to under-baking or possibly being in a high humidity area. These are best when made and kept in a dry place at room temperature. If they are sticky, you should continue baking. Also be sure you are baking on the regular bake setting (not convection).
Mine used to come out sticky all the time and I couldn’t figure out what was wrong it drove me crazy i even tried to bake them longer and that just made them brownish. Untill my sisters mother in law shes a professional cake baker and she uses meringue to decorate cakes, she told me that the reason they come out sticky is because you change the temperature realy fast like from hot oven to room temp. So what i do is bake them 1 hour and 15 min and then turn off the oven and let them sit there for 30 min like you say in your recipe and then just crack open the oven a little and let them sit there untill the oven cools off completely or even longer sometime 2 hours. They never came out sticky again. Thanks for a great recipe Natasha, I make them all the time. My family’s favorite dessert.
My pleasure Tammy, thanks for sharing your helpful tip!
Followed the recipe according to the adjustments to make 8 pavlovas. I even left them in the oven after baking as advised. They came out a sticky light brown on the outside and uncooked on the inside. They also smelled very eggy. I’m sure I did something wrong somewhere. Would definitely try it again so that I can leave a fairer rating
Hi Winnay, it sounds like the oven may have been too hot. Make sure to use the conventional (regular) bake mode and NOT convection. You might try reducing the temperature by 15 degrees, especially if your oven runs hot. They should be crisp to the touch on the outside and marshmallow soft on the inside. Also, could it be that the eggs were under-beaten. Lastly, be sure to make the recipe exactly as stated (without substitutions) for the correct consistency to form. I hope that helps!
Hi Natasha, I want to make these but I don’t have corn starch….:( do you think they will still turn out? I’m wondering how corn starch plays a role in these…..
Hi Lena, the corn starch is important to achieve the proper texture inside the Pavlova and make it marshmallow soft inside. One of my readers reported great results using potato starch if that helps.
Hello Natasha,
I want to make this today, but could you please tell me how much it will be 1.5 cups of sugar in grams?
Thank you in advance.
Hi Valeria, you might find this tutorial on how we measure useful. Also, 1.5 cups sugar is about 300 grams.
Hi Natasha. My name is Tatiyana. I am going to make this very soon and I need to know what brand of eggs did you use, for example: Egg Lands Best, Free Range, The Happy Egg Co., and etc. I want to know this information because i heard that alot of people have been having a hard time trying to figure out which kind of eggs to use. So i want to know which kind, You used to see if I could buy that particular kind. Please get back to me as soon as you can. Thank you, bye Natasha
Hi Tatiyana, we normally use Simple Truth Cage Free brand from Fred Meyer or First Light (the cheaper brand). Pretty much any egg should work – maybe stay away from the ones that say “pasteurized.” I wonder if that is what causes the troubles for people? I haven’t had any issues with any of the various eggs I’ve tried but I do not buy the pasteurized ones.
I’ve made these, followed the recipe to the “T”, but mine came out light brown. It tastes perfect, but it’s not white. What could’ve been the cause?
Hi Michelle, Did you bake them in a conventional oven (not convection) in the center of your oven? Not all ovens are created equal so it also may be that your oven runs a little hot. If they are yellow, that means they baked too quickly or at too high of heat. I hope that helps!
Coul you tell me how large the nests are? I mean approximately the size of their diameter? Thank you
Hi Cindy, if you make them the diameter of a muffin, you’ll get 36 of them 😬
Well muffins can be different sizes but I guess I can look a the diameter of muffin moulds in a muffin pan. Is that what you mean?
Cindy, make them around 3″ in diameter. Have a Merry Christmas 😬
Can you refrigerate the pavlovas with the cream?
Once the cream is on, you want to consume these within 4 hours. In general, do not refrigerate meringue because the moisture from the fridge will soften the meringue.
Actually, I put them in an airtight container and refrigerated them overnight and they were fine.
That’s awesome!! Maybe it was the airtight container that saved them! 🙂 Thanks for sharing 🙂
Yes. I’ve done it everytime I’ve made a Pavlova. Just as what was stated, make sure to put it in an airtight container. I use my cake carrier. You will get a bit of condensation on the shell but it’s not something that’ll make you not want to eat them. In fact, my entire family loves a good piece of Pavlova the next day, even two days later. Refrigerating them helps the whipping cream to hold up even if you mixed say a lemon curd into it. Will say this…. not one piece of Pavlova ever made its way into the trashcan, lol….
Hi,
Any recommendations for the use of egg yolks? Do you have any recipe I could use?
Thank you.
Hi Alexandra, I don’t really have many egg yolk only recipes. My custard cake uses alot of egg yolks. If anyone else has any great suggestions, please share and thanks in advance!! 🙂
scramble them…
Alton Brown’s chocolate ice cream!
I use egg whites in the carton for pavlova.
Use yolks for lemon custard, and you can use it for your mini Pavlovas instead of whipped cream. I use lemon custard recipe from joyofbaking.com It’s excellent and easy to make.
I can’t find a lemon custard recipe on joyofbaking.com/ Do you mean lemon curd?
My husband and I went to Key West for our 30 year anniversary, i chose this recipe because this recipe used 6 egg whites and the key lime recipe also used 6 egg yolks, it was a total win, win! Great to have two options of deserts for our dinner parties
That’s so great, Rosanne!
Ice cream base. Custard for a pie. Lemon curd. All good uses for orphan egg yolks.
Hi!
When we were in Key West, the “famous” key lime pie is Kermit’s, everyone has a key lime pie version and they are all pretty good. I bought a bottle of Kermit’s key lime juice and used the recipe on the label which calls for 6 egg yolks, you can order the juice online. I have made mini/cupcake size as well, they were delish! Hope that helps!
Is one mini Pavlova right for each person. Or using your recipe, can they be made larger with same cooking time. Want to use for Xmas dinner. Great video!
Hi Dan, they can be made larger but will need additional baking time so you’ll have to guess-timate based on how large you make them (maybe 1.5 hours?).
Hi Natasha! I have a question! Can I use carton egg whites from Costco? Would it still turn out good? Thank you!
Hi Larysa, I haven’t tried that product so I’m not sure. Does it have any additives in it? Sometimes they are pasteurized which makes them more difficult to work with and achieve the correct consistency with meringues. Because of this, I think it’s safest to use egg whites directly from the egg.
I have been doing Minipavlovas for years – once are better, once are worse. Sometimes meringues are very spread, sometimes they are very cracked. Up to yesterday – when I discovered your blog, Natasha, and follow your (video) instructions – my minipavlovas are magnificent. Thanks – thanks – thanks. Little piece of knowledge: I assemble them by mascarpone whipped with a small amount of good alcohol , instead of whipped cream. They will remain fresh for longer time.
I’m so glad to hear that Sylva! Thanks for sharing your great review with other readers!!
This sounds Devine !!! Thank you for the tips !
Sylva,
How much mascarpone and alcohol do you use? And what kind of alcohol? Brandy? Rum? Grand Marnier? Thank you for your time.
Hello!
I just made these and they are quite tasty! However, mine were crisp all the way through and the surfaces cracked. I live in Denver. Could the altitude be my problem since the times/temps listed were followed exactly?
Any other recommendations?
Hi Rachel, it could possibly be due to altitude. Does your oven usually run too hot? It sounds like they were baked at too high of heat or for too long. Oh, also, be sure you are using a conventional oven and NOT convection since convection will bake things quicker.
I made this recipe today and it is perfect. I topped it with a cranberry and blackberry relish and fresh whipped cream. Great recipe,
I’m happy to hear that! Thanks for sharing your great review Brendan!
Hello! I was wondering what would happen if I dip the pavlova into melted chocolate? Is the heat going to melt the pavlova itself? Thank you !
Joanie, I haven’t tried that but probably won’t dip Pavlova in hot chocolate but drizzle over instead with melted chocolate.
Hello,
I’ve made mini pavlovas before and once they cooled and hardened I dipped them in melted chocolate and placed them on baking paper to set and they turned out great!
Hello 🙂 I was wondering if it is possible to add coloration to the pavlova? Thank you
Hi Joanie, I haven’t experimented with adding food coloring, but I think it would work fine in small amounts folded in at the end and a gel food coloring might be the safest so you don’t risk changing the consistency as much.
Hi there!! 🙂
Just made these and these were fantastic!! 🙂 🙂
Hello Caroline! I’m glad you love the recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Hi! How many grams of sugar are in this particular cup?
Hi A.R. 1 cup of sugar is 210 grams so 1.5 cups is 315 grams of sugar for this recipe.
Why did my pavlovas turn out a little sticky to the touch ?
Hi Katie, it could be due to underbaking or possibly being in a high humidity area. These are best when made and kept in a dry place at room temperature. If they are sticky, you should continue baking. Also be sure you are baking on the regular bake setting (not convection).
I have 8 egg whites that are already together. What kind of modifications do you think I need to do to make it work, if that’s possible?
Thank you!
Hi Nadia, you will have to scale everything up by 25% or add 1/4 more of all the ingredients. I hope you have a large enough mixer! 😉