:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/20250529-SEA-StrawberryPavlova-QiAi-Beauty1-29-3cfb1e98360548a98f717fb59f05a264.jpg?w=1920&resize=1920,1440&ssl=1 "This Dreamy Summer season Dessert Is Good for Strawberry Lovers")
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Why It Works
- Slowly including the sugar to the egg whites because it whips ensures it is going to dissolve correctly.
- Cornstarch helps soak up extra moisture within the meringue, stopping it from weeping.
- Baking the meringues at a low temperature and permitting them to regularly cool within the oven prevents them from cracking.
The primary time I made pavlova—a chic dessert of baked meringues, fruit, and whipped cream—it was a catastrophe. Early in my profession, I used to be commissioned by a neighborhood catering corridor to make round 100 particular person pavlovas for a dinner honoring an Australian meals character. Up thus far, the one time that I would made something resembling a pavlova was for a plated dessert composed of a very crisp meringue shell holding a mousse.
So off I went, full steam forward, and baked up 100 shells that had been crackly crisp from the skin to the middle. To make issues worse, I virtually shrink-wrapped the packing containers to make it possible for they’d keep utterly crisp. All was profitable, I believed, till some months later, after I got here throughout a very correct recipe that defined {that a} good pavlova meringue is crisp on the skin with a marshmallow-y gentle middle. Oops. I can solely think about the sound of oldsters clumsily shattering by way of the crunchy meringue, with bits of dried egg white flying in every single place.
Not like the pavlova I made years in the past, this one is foolproof…and is crisp on the skin, however nonetheless tender on the within. To forestall my meringue from collapsing, I whip it at a slower pace for longer, which creates a stronger foam that is much less more likely to deflate. Cornstarch provides the meringue its pillowy middle whereas additionally serving to to soak up extra liquid, and a contact of almond flour offers a touch of nuttiness. I hold the filling easy with macerated strawberries and billows of recent whipped cream—each of that are flippantly sweetened to steadiness the sugary meringue. Be sure you eat it quickly after you assemble it, because the dessert will solely hold a short while as soon as the strawberry juice begins to seep into the meringue.
Severe Eats / Qi Ai
April 2013
This recipe was cross-tested and up to date in 2025.
This Dreamy Summer season Dessert Is Good for Strawberry Lovers
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300 g granulated sugar (10 1/2 ounces; 1 1/2 cups)
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2 tablespoons cornstarch (about 1/2 ounces; 16 g)
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6 massive egg whites
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2 teaspoons cream of tartar
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Pinch salt
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4 teaspoons vanilla extract
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57 g almond flour (2 ounces; 1/2 cup)
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43 g sliced almonds (1 1/2 ounces; 1/2 cup)
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1 1/2 kilos (680 g) strawberries, hulled and sliced (4 cups sliced)
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2 cups (480 ml) heavy cream
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3 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar (about 1 ounce; 28 g), plus for dusting
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1/8 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for desk salt, use half as a lot by quantity
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Alter oven rack to center place and preheat to 275°F (135°C). Line a rimmed 13- by 18-inch baking sheet with parchment paper; put aside. In a medium bowl, whisk cornstarch and sugar; put aside.
Severe Eats / Qi Ai
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Within the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or utilizing a hand mixer and a big bowl, beat egg whites with cream of tartar and salt on medium pace till mild, fluffy, and gentle peaks type, about 5 minutes. With the mixer nonetheless working on medium, regularly add sugar and cornstarch combination, 1/4 cup at a time, beating for 30 seconds after every addition. Proceed beating till meringue is thick, shiny, and holds agency peaks if you raise the whisk, 8 to 12 minutes longer. Utilizing a versatile spatula, scrape backside and sides of the bowl. With the mixer working on medium pace, drizzle in vanilla extract, and proceed beating on medium till totally integrated. Gently fold almond flour into meringue till integrated.
Severe Eats / Qi Ai
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Scrape meringue onto middle of ready baking sheet. Utilizing a versatile spatula or the again of a spoon, unfold and clean meringue from middle outward right into a 9-inch disc, making a rim that’s about 1/4-inch increased across the edges.
Severe Eats / Qi Ai
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Place in oven and instantly scale back temperature to 225°F (110°C). Bake till meringue is dry and pale beige, about 1 1/2 hours. Flip oven off and permit meringue to chill within the oven with the door closed, at the very least 2 hours and as much as 16.
Severe Eats / Qi Ai
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To Assemble: Within the clear bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or utilizing a hand mixer and a big bowl, beat heavy cream, confectioners’ sugar, and salt on medium pace till gentle peaks type, 2 to three minutes.
Severe Eats / Qi Ai
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Fastidiously peel parchment away from backside of meringue, and switch meringue to a cake stand or massive platter. Spoon whipped cream into melancholy of the meringue, adopted by the sliced strawberries. High with sliced almonds and mud with confectioners’ sugar. Serve instantly.
Severe Eats / Qi Ai
Particular Tools
13- by 18-inch rimmed baking sheet, parchment paper, stand mixer or hand mixer, cake stand or massive platter
Make-Forward and Storage
As soon as cooled, the meringue may be made and saved in an hermetic container, ideally with a silica packet, for as much as 5 days at room temperature however might soften because it sits. The pavlova must be eaten instantly.
