Pavlova with Mascarpone Cream
Pavlova is an impressive and sweet dessert made from egg whites – with a soft Marshmallowy interior and a crispy meringue exterior. Topped with a mascarpone whipped cream and your choice of other toppings. I used lemon curd and fresh blueberries and garnished with some chopped mint leaves. But I’ve also topped it with peanut butter sauce and chocolate sauce along with some of my homemade peanut butter cups. So so good! Your pav, your choice!
Recipe Tin Eats offers many good tips and tricks that I incorporated into the directions, The Boy Who Bakes gave me trick of using lemon juice instead of vinegar, which I incorporated here.
Be sure to top the shell no more than an hour before serving. It’s best eaten the same day, because you’ll need to cover and refrigerate any leftovers. Once refrigerated, the shell loses its crispiness. It’s no less tasty, though!
Nutrition information is for the pavlova shell and mascarpone whipped cream only.
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 90 min + cooling
- Total Time: 1 hr, 45 min
- Yield: 10 servings 1x
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: International
Ingredients
For the Pavlova:
- 5 oz. (150 ml) egg whites – 4-5 lg egg whites – See Note 1
- 1 cup (225g) superfine sugar (caster sugar) – Regular granulated sugar (198g) is optional, but not preferred (See Note 2)
- 1 Tbsp (8g) cornstarch, sifted
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tsp (5ml) lemon juice (white vinegar is good substitute)
For the Mascarpone Whipped Cream:
- 1 cup (237ml) Heavy Whipping Cream (any whipping cream will do)
- 2 Tbsp (25g) granulated sugar (superfine works well here, too)
- 5 oz (150g) Mascarpone Cheese, removed from fridge 15 mins ahead
- 1 tsp (5ml) Natural Vanilla Extract
- (optional) 1/2 tsp lemon zest
For Toppings:
Lemon Blueberry Pavlova:
- 8–10 oz. Lemon Curd
- 1/2 cup Fresh Blueberries
- a few mint leaves, chopped
Other choices:
- fresh fruit
- jam
- candies
- nuts
- chocolate sauce
- caramel sauce
- peanut butter sauce
- toasted coconut
- anything you love!
Instructions
Prepare a Pan to Bake Pavlova:
- Onto a sheet of parchment paper, trace the bottom of an 8” (20cm) cake pan, or draw an 8” circle. Turn the sheet upside down (pencil marks down) on a sheet pan. The pavlova will bake to be larger than the circle by up to 1 1/2 – 2 inches in width.
Make the Pavlova:
- With cold eggs, separate the whites from the yolks. Measure 5 oz (150ml) of whites, or 4-5 large eggs’ worth of whites. Let warm to room temperature – this will take about 30 mins.
- Preheat oven to 300F/150C if convection, 340F/170C for standard.
- In a large bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl with a hand mixer, place the room temperature egg whites. Beat at Medium-High (stand mixer) or High (hand mixer) until soft peaks form. This typically takes a minute or two after eggs no longer appear foamy during beating.
- Add the superfine sugar, 1 T at a time, beating as you go. Toss in the pinch of salt. After all of the sugar and the salt is incorporated, continue beating an additional 3-5 mins, until the mixture has stiff peaks, is quite thick, and glossy.
- Add the cornstarch and the lemon juice and beat an additional 10-15 seconds, it doesn’t need to be fully incorporated.
- Carefully scoop half of the egg white mixture onto the circle and using an offset spatula or large spoon, gently coax it into the circle shape, being careful not to “smash” it. Then pile the rest of the egg white mixture on top, making it vaguely (at least) dome-shaped. Flatten the top a bit. You just don’t want the sides to be straight up, because this will increase the possibility of collapse. The “dome” should be around 2- 2 1/2” (5cm) high.
- Carefully place the baking tray into the oven, and GENTLY close the door. Do your best to keep the kitchen activity low during cooking, or you could risk the dreaded collapse of the pavlova. Immediately reduce oven heat to 210F/100C for convection, or 240F/115C for standard. Let the pavlova bake 90 minutes. DO NOT open the oven to peek, it will be fine. DO NOT decide to jump or dance in front of your oven – again, for fear of collapse.
- After 90 minutes, turn the oven OFF, still keeping the door closed. Leave the pavlova in the oven at least 3 hours and up to overnight. It’s best if it cools slowly. This should avoid any major cracks in the shell.
- Gently coax it off of the paper and onto a serving plate. Top with Whipped Mascarpone Cream and any other toppings you wish!
Make the Mascarpone Whipped Cream:
- Place the cream, sugar and vanilla into a bowl. Beat at Medium-high speed until it has soft peaks. It should be thick and smooth with no stiff peaks.
- Add the mascarpone cheese and lemon zest (if using) and continue to beat until incorporated, but still just thick and smooth, without soft peaks only. If it gets too thick, just smooth it out with a little extra cream.
- Top the Pavlova with the whipped mascarpone cream and any fruit, sauces or candies, and serve right away! (See Note 3)
Notes
1. Best to separate egg yolks from the whites when cold – they are more likely to separate easily and fully. Then let the whites get to room temperature to get the best ability to whip them up.
2. To make caster, or superfine, sugar from regular, granulated sugar, whiz it up in a spice grinder or blender for 5-8 seconds, a half cup at a time. 1 cup caster sugar weighs 220-225g.
3. Serve your Pavlova immediately after topping, to avoid any collapse. It will last picture-perfect for 20-30 mins, if you are lucky!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/10 recipe
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