Mary Berry’s Christmas Pavlova
Mary Berry’s Christmas Pavlova is truly a holiday show stopper. While I am not a huge watcher of cooking shows, I enjoy watching The Great British Bake Off. It is a friendly and fun competition. Not like the cooking competition shows in the US where they are cut-throat with yelling and meanness rule. That is not my thing. I like niceness and kindness. Any way back to the pavlova, I saw this on the Master Class program where Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood create desserts by showing you how to make them. The Christmas program was my favorite. A couple recipes I want to try and this was one of them.
I was intimidated by this recipe at first. I have never made a pavlova; however, in Ireland they are a very common dessert. My Auntie Carmel is known to make a pretty amazing one. The recipe is using British ingredients with American English equivalents and measurements. I purchased vanilla bean paste and caster sugar through Amazon. I only converted the oven temps from celsius to fahrenheit. When baking, I am finding it is better to weigh your ingredients than using cups. Baking is more science than art. It is worth investing in scale that does grams and ounces.
Ingredients
- For the pavlova
- - 6 large egg whites
- - 350g/12oz caster sugar or super fine sugar
- - 1 tsp white wine vinegar
- - 1 tsp cornflour (corn starch)
- For the filling
- - 600ml/20fl oz double cream or whipping cream
- - 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- - 50g/1¾oz icing sugar or powdered sugar, sifted
- - 200g/7oz strawberries, hulled and quartered
- - 300g/10½oz raspberries
- - 200g/7oz blueberries
- - a few mint leaves, to decorate (optional)
- - icing sugar or powdered sugar, for dusting
Preparation
- - Preheat the oven to 160C/140C Fan/Gas 3 or 285F.
- - Line a large baking tray with baking parchment and draw a 30cm/12in circle in the middle of the paper.
- - Put the egg whites in a clean mixing bowl and whisk with an electric whisk until soft peaks form when the whisk is removed.
- - Gradually add the sugar a little at a time, whisking on maximum speed until they are stiff and glossy.
- - Mix the vinegar and cornflour in a cup until smooth, then stir into the egg whites.
- - Spoon the meringue onto the ring drawn on the baking parchment.
- - Using a large spoon make a shallow trench in the meringue for the cream and fruit to sit in.
- - Transfer to the oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 140C/120C Fan/Gas 1 or 250F. - --- Bake for 1 hour–1 hour 15 minutes, until the outside is hard but still white.
- - Turn the oven off and leave the pavlova inside for an hour or overnight to cool and dry.
- - To assemble, whip the cream, vanilla paste and icing sugar until stiff peaks form when the whisk is removed.
- - Spoon the cream into the trench in the meringue.
- - Arrange the strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and pomegranate on top and decorate with a few mint leaves, if using.
- - To serve, dust with icing sugar and cut into wedges.
Hello! I'm Ann Marie and I wear the well-worn apron. Join me as explore plant-based eating while I live on an island off the U.S. state of Rhode Island.
Loved watching this show
I absolutely agree with you about US cooking contests! They are loud and garish…everyone hoping the other one has terrific fails! TGBBS is so peaceful and kind…when I am overwhelmed or anxious I watch the Master Class episodes. I feel like I have been to the home of friends who have showed me how to make something! I love it!
Oh I am SO glad to find someone else who does not like this garbage they call baking and cooking competitions in the US. I was told many years ago when they began producing these things the Food Network does is to attract the male population, and it works. Of course it does, its that male testosterone which wants fierce battles no matter what it is, even if it means baking cupcakes or scrambled eggs. I think they are a 100% complete waste of my time and have never watched a single one of them. Perhaps, the ONLY one that has any merit is amongst the professionals which began as a Japanese tradition and its strictly for the pros. Is that one called Chopped? But to stick the amateurs in this stuff, its outrageous. As a hobby baker what good does it do me to see someone make 2,000 cupcakes in 45 minutes or something as absurd? The Great British Baking show is a TRUE test of a person’s abilities. No decent baker can function under the horrendous requirements they set on the rest of the US shows. And did you notice, when the US tried to copy the British Baking show, it didn’t go over so well. There has not been a single British show which the Americans tried to copy the format that its worked, its just too completely different cultures. I’m just glad to finally see I’m not the only one who thinks the US shows are useless. I was SO upset the BBC or whatever channel it was messed up the Baking Show, WHY couldn’t they just leave well enough alone? There is a chemistry between Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry that is so perfect. I absolutely LOVE their Masterclasses but especially the Christmas ones. They are a sheer joy to watch. When WETA-UK began airing them the other week I felt as though I had been given a tremendous Christmas gift.
I totally agree on every point. I learn so much from watching the show and will watch the master classes over and over for the technique. We REFUSE to watch the “new” program. Apparently BBC was outbid by a commercial channel so it went. Mary Berry and the hosts were loyal to BBC and didn’t chose to join. And what is WETA-UK? Off to google that…
I totally agree with you !!! ♥️
Do you happen to know if corn starch can be substituted for corn flour? I’m in a small town in the US, so I’m having to order some of these ingredients. Excited to make this!
Corn starch is what I use and it works perfectly.
Made this for Christmas party 2018. Put it on the table and 3 min later not a crumb left.
I had trouble getting egg whites to form peaks. First try was marshmallow. Second try was better but not great. Taste was awesome!
Love the competition shows and master classes. Thanks!
So glad it worked out. Eggs can be tricky.
I’m attempting this right now but no matter what I do, it will not get to stiff peaks. I did exactly as you said – soft peaks, then slowly add sugar. I couldn’t get my hands on caster sugar, so I ground up granulated sugar in the coffee grinder, just a bit (not too much). I guess it’s possible that’s the problem? How long does it usually take for the stiff peaks to form?
That’s a good question. It shouldn’t be the issue. Perhaps it was the speed of the mixer or the eggs?
Is there a gram conversion for the 6 large egg whites?
Are you thinking about using liquid egg whites? I think for one egg white, it is something like 4 Tablespoons or 50 ml. Maybe, it is something like 30 grams per egg white? While I’ve never done it with aquafaba, but 2 tablespoons of aquafaba is equivalent to about 1 egg white. Let me know how it works.
made this at Christmas and is was a BIG hit. Going to make a Flag for the July holiday
Isn’t a festive dessert? Good idea. I’d be worried about the humidity affecting it.