I am in love with pavlovas. I used to think I didn’t like them since I’d had meringue bakes before but they were always crunchy and just not my favorite texture (plus trés sweet). Then I had a proper pavlova in pastry school and… fell in love really. 

A properly baked pavlova has a crunch to its exterior but a fluffy, pillow inside. Basically, it’s a sexy marshmallow with a slight shell. You can pipe it into baskets (or heart shapes if you’re really cute like me) or just (carefully) dump it onto your baking sheet. Fill it however you like too, though it’s often topped with fruits as the pavlova itself is quite sweet and the tartness from the fruits help to counteract that for a gorgeous flavor balance. 

This pavlova is made using French meringue that is then dolloped equally onto a baking tray and gently flattened into thick discs. Once it’s baked and cooled, she’s covered with layers of whipped cream, spirals of peaches, and a sprinkling of fresh mint leaves for, honestly, a drop-dead gorgeous (and scrumptious) pavlova. 

This was one of those bakes where I started off skeptical - with the thickness of the pavlova along with the stacking of it - but it ended up being a work of delicious art that I was gushing over the rest of the day.

Ingredients:

PAVLOVA

• 100g (approx. 3 eggs) egg whites, room temperature

• ½ tsp corn starch

• 1 tsp white wine vinegar

• 100g (approx. ½ cup) granulated sugar

• 100g (a little over ¾ cup) powdered sugar, sifted

WHIPPED CREAM

• ¾ cup (200g) heavy cream

• 2 ¾  tbsp (20g) powdered sugar, sifted

TOPPING

• 2 fresh peaches

• 1 tbsp fresh mint leaves

Directions:

• Add your egg whites to a clean bowl with space for growth

• With your mixer on low speed, beat your egg whites until nice and frothy, with no loose liquid at the bottom.

• Add in your vinegar and cornstarch and beat until medium-soft peaks form (aka the mixture has stiffened but not completely and it still moves around in the bowl).

• A few spoonfuls at a time, add your caster sugar, beat, and repeat until all the sugar is added. You should have glossy, stiff peaks at this point. If you want to test your work, you can flip the bowl upside down and nothing should fall out.

• Sift in your powdered sugar and using a metal spoon, gently fold in the sugar until just combined. Be very careful at this stage to not knock out any excess air from the meringue.

• Preheat oven to 212F (100C) CONVECTION

• On a parchment-lined baked tray, split the pavlova mixture into two even dollops (as possible). Gently flatten with a spatula to about 2” thick and then using the spatula, go around the rim of each disc and pull the edge of the meringue mixture lightly up (from bottom to top), to make a rim around each circle. 

• Bake for 45-65 minutes

• To check for doneness, gently squeeze the sides of one of your baskets. If firm, gently try to lift/peel from the parchment paper. When there is no resistance, they are ready

• Turn your oven off but leave the baked meringues in the oven with the door slightly cracked. Allow them to cool completely in the oven for an hour.

• While your meringue is cooling, make your whipped cream. Add your heavy cream to a bowl and sift your powdered sugar over it. Whisk together until the mixture has thickened to whipped cream, if done by hand this will take a few minutes. Be careful not to overwhip and curdle your cream. Cover and place in the fridge to chill.

• As your whipped cream chills, thinly slice your peaches. Cut each peach in half, from stem to base, remove from the pit, and cut each half into ⅛” thick slices.

• Once everything is cooled, gently remove one of your pavlova discs and place it onto a plate. Dollop half of your whipped cream onto the top of your pavlova. Make a spiral of peaches on top of your whipped cream, placing the tip of one peach (with the skin facing counterclockwise) at the center of the pavlova, and carefully overlap half of your peaches (as fit) in a clockwise pattern until you’re back to the first peach. Don’t put more than one layer of peaches on each layer or risk your pavlova collapsing from the weight.

• Repeat this process after carefully stacking the second pavlova disc on top of your peach layer. 

• Sprinkle mint leaves across the top peach layer

• Enjoy!

Ok, this is a stunner right?? I want to see all your pavlova pictures so tag @accentgolden on social so we can share a virtual high-five!

Notes:

• Be gentle with your meringue as you handle it ahead of baking. It is very fragile at this stage and you don’t want to lose any of that air you’ve whipped into it.

• Make sure all of your elements - pavlova, whipped cream, and peaches - are completely cool (or cold) before assembly, or risk destroying your work!

• Pavlovas are fragile, be careful not to weigh it down with too many peaches as it could result in crushing your masterpiece

• I received the recipe for French meringue during my patisserie course in Scotland from Chef Ashley