Crispy on the outside with a soft marshmallowy center, this Peach Pavlova is a perfect and such a delicious summer dessert to delight your taste buds. Easy recipe for using up egg white leftovers.
Peach Pavlova Recipe
There are countless of summer fruit recipes you can find online these days. What makes this classic Pavlova recipe different from the other summer treats?
"Luxuriously crunchy meringue crust and melt-in your mouth soft center."
Slather it with a decadent mascarpone cream and top with a few slices of fruit and you're hooked. The best summer dessert is right here. Easy to make and simply mouthwatering.
What is Pavlova
Pavlova is a delicate meringue dessert named after a famous Russian prima ballerina Anna Pavlova. She has been known for her magnificent performances and flexibility and became the first ballerina to tour ballet around the world.
In 1926 she toured across Australia and New Zealand. To commemorate such a remarkable talent and grace of Anna Pavlova, local pastry chefs made a dessert in her honour.
There have been endless debates as to whether Australia or New Zealand created the recipe, but one thing remains true - beautiful and light Pavlova cake is a genius and incredibly easy dessert you can make at home even without special skills.
The shape of Pavlova dessert resembles ballet tutu and the traditional toppings are raspberries, strawberries or passionfruit. It's absolutely beautiful and can be made using any fruits or berries.
How To Make Pavlova
Peach Pavlova is an easy dessert, but to make it perfect, you need to stick to a few golden rules:
- the bowl for whisking the egg whites should be clean and completely dry;
- eggs should be chilled and when separating yolks from the whites, make sure no traces of egg yolk find its way into the bowl; It's also better to use eggs that are at least a few days old. The older the egg is the more volume egg white will create when beaten;
- caster or powdered sugar work best because they tend to dissolve faster;
- traditional Pavlova recipe has cornstarch in it and some kind of acid: vinegar or lemon juice. They create crispy outer layer with a softer creamy-like center and that's what distinguishes Pavlova from a regular meringue dessert.
- Pavlova dessert is usually baked low and slow with no peeking during baking. Important detail - allow Pavlova to cool completely in the oven before proceeding to the next step.
...a few final tips on making Peach Pavlova recipe
You can bake Pavlova as a whole cake or make a few mini Pavlovas. Any fruits or berries will work great in this dessert. You can even add cocoa powder to the meringue.
Make sure to decorate Pavlova with cream and fruits right before the serving. Otherwise the filling will slowly soak into the meringue making it softer and chewier.
While you can bake meringue the night before, it's best to consume Pavlova on the same day. If you haven't decorated Pavlova yet, you can store it in the airtight container for a few days.
Since Pavlova is a very delicate dessert and reacts to moisture, it's best not to make Pavlova on the humid day.
Okay, let's begin.
First thing you need to do is carefully separate egg whites from the egg yolks.
Place egg whites in a clean dry bowl and using a hand mixer or stand mixer with a whisk attachment beat on a low speed until firm peaks form.
Increase the speed of the mixer and start adding sugar, one tablespoon at a time making sure sugar is fully dissolved into the beaten egg whites before adding another tablespoon.
Beat sugar on a medium speed until stiff peaks form. That means if you lift the whisk, the peaks will hold without collapsing.
Make sure not to overbeat the egg whites. It will break the structure and the meringue might collapse during baking. If your meringue starts to curdle, that means egg whites are overbeaten and you need to start all over.
When all sugar has been incorporated and the meringue holds its shape and glossy, fold in cornstarch, lemon juice and vanilla.
Perfect meringue holds its shape. It's thick, airy and glossy.
Line a baking tray with a parchment paper and draw 8" circle in the middle. I used the base of a round baking pan.
Turn the parchment paper on the other side and spoon the meringue into the circle making a slight indentation in the center.
Preheat the oven to 250 F and bake Pavlova for 45-50 minutes. Turn off the oven and without opening the door, let Pavlova completely cool before taking it out of the oven.
Meanwhile in a large bowl beat together heavy cream, Mascarpone cheese, vanilla and sugar.
Remove Pavlova from the oven and spoon Mascarpone cream into the indentation. Top with fresh peaches or nectarines and serve! So good!
What are some other Pavlova toppings?
- Whipped cream. Just beat the cream until stiff peaks form and spoon on the cooled meringue. Simple and always delicious.
- Lemon Curd. French classic that never disappoints.
- Pastry Cream works great too. You can use my Homemade Eclairs recipe for the best pastry cream.
More summer dessert recipes you'll love!
Blueberry Clafoutis | Pear Tarte Tatin| Apricot Panna Cotta | Blackberry Crumb Bars
Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 egg whites chilled
- ¾ cups caster or powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup Mascarpone cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 peaches or nectarines pits removed and cut into thin wedges
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 250 F.
- Drop the egg whites in a clean dry bowl and using a hand mixer or stand mixer with a whisk attachment beat on a low speed until firm peaks form.
- Increase the speed and start adding sugar, one tablespoon at a time making sure sugar is fully dissolved into the beaten egg whites before adding another tablespoon.
- Beat sugar on a medium speed until stiff peaks form. (If you lift the whisk, the peaks will hold without collapsing).
- Make sure not to overbeat the egg whites.
- When all sugar has been incorporated and the meringue holds its shape and glossy, fold in cornstarch, lemon juice and vanilla.
- Line a baking tray with a parchment paper and draw 8" circle in the middle.
- Turn the parchment paper on the other side and spoon the meringue into the circle making a slight indentation in the center.
- Bake Pavlova for 45-50 minutes until the outside looks dry to the touch.
- Turn off the oven and without opening the door, let Pavlova completely cool before taking it out of the oven.
- Meanwhile in a large bowl beat together heavy cream, Mascarpone cheese, vanilla and sugar.
- Remove Pavlova from the oven and spoon Mascarpone cream into the indentation. Top with fresh peaches or nectarines and serve!
If you make this Peach Pavlova, don't forget to snap a picture and post it on Instagram with a hashtag #lavenderandmacarons. I'd love to see your creations.
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Iryna Bychkiv is the founder and writer of the culinary website Lavender & Macarons, where she shares clean, European-inspired recipes that are delicious, easy to prepare, and made with wholesome ingredients. Iryna loves creating meals that are simple yet healthy and unique, including vegan and vegetarian recipes.
Iryna is also a freelance writer for MSN and Associated Press Wire.
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