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These Mini Pavlovas requite just 20 minutes of prep time and are the perfect dessert to “wow” your guests!
If you’re looking for a “fancy” dessert to bring to your next holiday party, look no further than these mini pavlovas with whipped cream! Sounds cheesy, but I’m seriously obsessed with these and I’m not kidding when I say your guests will be “wowed”. At least mine were. Granted, my guests were just Miguel and one of his coworkers, but still. They kept saying “what are these?” and “how did you make them?!” and it made me feel like a baking wizard.
Pavlovas were always something that seemed too complicated; they look fancy, so I just assumed they were. But they’re quite simple! They do require about an hour of bake time, but the prep time is no more than 15 minutes. YES I’M SERIOUS.
First, you’ll need to whip your egg whites to stiff peaks, which can take 5-8 minutes. One of these years I’m going to buy a dang stand mixer, but for now I use my hand mixer, and every time I have to whip something for that long I genuinely feel like I’m getting a good shoulder workout in. << sad but true.
Once the egg whites are whipped, you’ll slowly add in the sugar, followed by a little all purpose flour or cornstarch. For reasons I’m unsure of, I never have cornstarch on hand, so I always just use all purpose flour and it ends up working just the same. Either one works!
Next, you’ll place a dollop—a large dollop—of the mixture onto a baking sheet and allow them to bake for 1 hour. Then, they’ll need to cool for an hour before they’re completely ready. So yes, this recipe does take a little longer, but most of it is bake time and not prep time, which is what really counts.
You can eat the pavlovas as-is, or if you want to take them up a notch, you can prepare some homemade whipped cream to put on top. Since it’s December, I opted to top these mini pavlovas with clementine, pomegranate and chocolate, but if you’re making these in the summer feel free to use summer produce instead.
Whatever you do, I think you need to give these mini pavlovas with whipped cream a shot! Don’t be like me and avoid them because they seem difficult—you heard it here first: they’re EASY to prep.
Enjoy!
Mini Pavlovas with Whipped Cream
Ingredients
for the pavlovas:
- 6 egg whites
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp cream of tartar
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 2 tsp cornstarch or all purpose flour
for the whipped cream:
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 cup sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250°.
- Place egg whites, salt and cream of tartar in a large bowl and whip it on medium speed for 7-8 minutes or until stiff peaks form. Then, add sugar in 1/4 cup at a time and continue whipping for a total of 2-3 more minutes until the sugar is incorporated. Last, add the cornstarch (or all purpose flour--either one works!).
- Use a spoon to scoop dollops of the meringue onto a LINED baking sheet (if you don't line it, they will stick to the baking sheet--found that out the hard way), making sure to place them 2-3 inches apart. Then, use the back of your spoon to make an indent into the center of each meringue.
- Bake meringue for 1 hour; then, turn the oven off but leave baking sheet in the oven for an additional hour, allowing the meringue to cool.
- Before serving, prepare the whipped cream: whip the whipped cream until soft peaks form, then add the sugar and whip for 1-2 more minutes.
- To serve: scoop whipped cream into the center of each pavlova, then add whatever toppings you like! Examples include seasonal fruit, caramel and/or chocolate.
- Enjoy!
Notes
