Who would’ve thought that I would make a meringue thing—let alone a pavlova? This was one of my favorite recipes to make and was delicious. This perfect for the summertime pavlova has crém chantilly (the fancy name for whipped cream), lemon curd, and raspberry compote. It’s topped with a summer berry medley that adds more texture to the recipe!
But what is a pavlova—a pastry chef named this soft meringue after ballerina Anna Pavlova in either New Zealand or Australia (the details are fuzzy on this) and this dish instantly became a hit. The difference between a pavlova and classic meringue is the use of corn starch and vinegar which makes for a crisp outside and a soft inside.
I used David Lebovitz lemon curd recipe and Zoë François pavlova recipe. They are two giants and OG’s in the baking world and are my favorite bloggers. Hope you enjoyyyy!
Lemon and Raspberry Pavlova
Ingredients
Pavlova
- 150 g egg whites (around 5 eggs)
- 1 pinch salt
- 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar (optional but will make the meringue stronger)
- 1/4 cup cold water
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon vinegar (white wine, cider, distilled)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon plus teaspoon corn starch
Lemon Curd
- 1/2 cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 eggs
- 1 pinch salt
- 6 tablesppons unsalted butter, cubed
Raspberry compote
- 1/2 cup raspberry
- 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
Crém Chantilly
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
pavlova
- Trace five 4 inch circles on parchment paper and preheat oven to 300F.
- Whip the egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar to medium-stiff peaks. Be careful not to over whip! (zoë has an instagram highlight with descriptions on the peaks or you can use the kitchn's guide to egg white peaks)
- Add in the water and drizzle in sugar while whipping on a low speed. Then, turn up the speed and whip until stiff peaks.
- Fold in the vinegar, corn starch, and vanilla extract with a spatula making sure not to knock out any air.
- Scoop the meringue out onto the parchment circles. Shape the meringue into circles using the spatula. Clean the edges of the circle with your finger or a paper towel. (you can also shape them further by taking a knife or offset spatula, holding it parallel to the meringue and lifting upwards. go around the circle while overlapping the vertical strokes.) Indent the pavlova at the top.
- Bake for 30 minutes at 300F and then decrease the oven to 275F and bake for 45 minutes. Do not open the oven or the pavlova will crack. Leave pavlova to cool in the oven for 1 hour or overnight with the oven light on. (I prefer to cool overnight). The pavlova will collapse in the center and give you a place for delicious fillings.
lemon curd
- Place a mesh strainer over a bowl and set aside.
- In a medium sauce pan whisk together the sugar, eggs, egg yolks, lemon juice, and salt.
- Place the sauce pan on low heat and add in the butter cubes. Whisk constantly while the butter melts.
- Increase to medium heat and whisk constantly until the mixture becomes thicker. (around 5 minutes)
- Remove from heat and immediately press the curd through the strainer.
- Cool and refrigerate. It will last one week in an airtight container.
raspberry compote
- In a small saucepan, mix together the sugar, raspberries, and lemon juice.
- Place over medium heat stirring constantly until the raspberries fall apart and the mixture resembles a sauce.
- Optional: place the sauce through a strainer. (personally I like the appearance of the seeds so I skip this step)
crém chantilly
- In a stand mixer, whisk the cream, sugar, and vanilla extract until medium soft peaks. Place in fridge to firm before using.
assembly
- Fill a piping bag or ziplock with the crém chantilly. Fill the pavlova to the top with the cream.
- Place two tablespoons of lemon curd on top of the cream.
- Place a mixture of berries on top.
- Drizzle the raspberry compote over the pavlova.
