It was inspired by a friend who I went berry picking with a couple of years ago, whom when we returned home from filling our bagful and luscious well with baskets of fresh berries, said we should fill this in goblets over light, crispy meringue. I was surprised and delighted when she insisted that we used a truly decadent amount of freshly picked blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries, and I can't imagine serving a pavlova any other way now.
You will see many pavlova recipes call for fruit in a volume I refer to as garnish, but not this one, where the meringue is the marshmallow vessel for eight cups of peak season berries.
Another of my friend's genius in finishing her dessert of pavlova with an overflowing tendency of fruit and even finishing it with a very generous dose of flaky salt. In this version I make a salted whipped cream for the same effect. Sweet, chewy-soft meringue + salty whipped cream + juicy berries, what can be a better ending to a meal in any summer?
Tips for Making My Pavolva
Below are some tips to help you get the best results but the one thing I learned through my many attempts at testing this recipe is that pavlova is still pretty delicious, even if you haven't got all the skills quite spot on.
- Also make sure your mixing bowl is clean and there is no oily residue on there, because fat will not allow your meringue to fully expand. Others even go so far as to wipe the bowl with vinegar or lemon juice, but hot water and dish soap will handle.
- Cover the meringue with the oven closed the entire time it is baking. Textural best is achieved when baking at steady temperature and a very slow cooling time. At the end of baking time if necessary you carefully prop open the oven briefly to check that the meringue has dried and crisped.
- Cracking is always a risk with pavlova, but it's a big one — as this wide, short version, as opposed to the tall, more perfectly styled variant, is, for example. Don't worry! It doesn't matter if your pavlova has some cracks if the outside is crispy and the inside is soft and slightly chewy.
- You can even take your pavlova over the top with a lovely tart golden layer of curd between the whipped cream and berries.
