Orange Berry Pavlova (Gluten free, Dairy free, Grain free, Soy free)

Pavlova is an absolutely delicious dessert that has a crisp exterior and marshmallow-y center. It looks fancy, but has simple ingredients. You essentially bake whipped egg whites and sugar into a cake and top it with cream and fruit. In this recipe, I outline the little things you need to know to make a successful pavlova. This particular recipe is also dairy free, although you can use heavy cream if desired, and is naturally gluten free. A pavlova is a show stopping dessert that I’m sure you’ll love. Check out the recipe and steps below.

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Let the pavlova making begin!

The steps:

• Start by separating your egg yolks and egg whites. You only use egg whites for this recipe, so store the yolks in the fridge for later (I like making ice cream with them? Here’s my recipe for s’mores ice cream).
  • Separate the eggs while the eggs are cold, and then let the white warm up to room temperature.
  • Any bit of yolk in the white will hinder the whites from whipping like they should. Be sure to not get any yolk in the whites, or you may need to start over.
• Preheat your oven to 250F (120C). We will lower it once the pavlova goes in.
• Gather the rest of your base ingredients. This includes white sugar, tapioca starch (or corn starch), apple cider vinegar, and vanilla.
  • The sugar should be a fine texture. I always blitz mine in a mini blender before using, because here in the USA it’s less common to find caster sugar at the store. Mine is almost powdered before using. You may struggle greatly if your sugar is too coarse, so I highly recommend pulsing it down.
• Add your room temperature egg whites to a clean and dry (important) stand mixer with a whisk attachment, or a large bowl where you will use a hand mixer. Whipping them by hand is too time consuming and difficult and I wouldn’t recommend it.
• Whisk the whites until soft peaks form. This takes about 2-3 minutes on medium-low speed.
• Next, you’re going to add the sugar one spoonful at a time while it’s whisking. Add one spoonful, wait something like 10-15 seconds, then add another. Yes, this will take time. I usually get all of my sugar in the bowl in about 7 minutes.
• Keep whisking the mixture until stiff peaks form and it’s completely smooth. I like to set a timer for 10 minutes and then step away. You don’t want any sugar granules to mess up the structure of your base.
  • Keep the speed at about medium. Whipping it too fast or too slow can mess with the structure.
  • If you think it’s done, rub a little between your fingers. If you feel any sugar granules, let the mixture whisk another 5 minutes, and then check again.
  • It’s hard to over-whisk, so be sure the sugar is all the way dissolved before moving on.
  • The mixture should be able to hold it’s shape and stay in the bowl if you flip it over.
• Gently fold in the tapioca starch, apple cider vinegar, and vanilla until it’s fully incorporated. You don’t want to knock much air out, so be gentle.
• Next, trace the shape of your base onto a sheet of parchment paper, and then flip it over onto your pan.
  • I like to use either a 8 or 9inch cake pan to trace a circle around, if making a large pavlova.
  • Use something like a wide mouth mason jar to draw mini circles, if making mini individual pavlovas.
  • No matter what shape you make, FLIP the parchment paper over, so the pencil marks are down. You will see the marks through the paper, but they won’t get on your pavlova. I’ve made this pavlova many many times and forgot to flip the paper once. The pencil did get on the bottoms and it was the worst!
• Gently shape your pavlova on the parchment lined pan.
  • An offset spatula is a great tool to help you shape the meringue how you want it.
  • Scoop your meringue mixture onto your parchment and then start from the inside to push it to the edge of the circle.
  • Try to keep your side much taller than the center. You want a little well in the center where your toppings will go later.
  • The spatula can be a great tool to make cool designs on the outside of the pavlova. I like to go around the circle, making a little swipe from bottom to top. You can see some of those details in the pictures below.
  • If making mini pavlovas, carefully scoop the meringue mixture into a piping bag with a large tip. I have used both the Wilton 1M and the Wilton 6B (6B is what I used for the minis shown below).
    • Start from the center of the circle and pipe your way around to the outside. Add another outside layer or two, and then pipe a little bit more meringue in the center.
    • Use the back of a spoon to create the well in the center, to make them look like little nests.
• Place your pavlova in the preheated oven, and then immediately turn the oven temperature down to 225F (107C).
  • Bake the large pavlova for 1 hour and 40 minutes.
  • Bake mini pavlovas for 1 hour and 10 minutes.
  • Be patient and do not open the oven door for the entire duration of baking.
• Once the timer goes off, keep the oven door closed and turn the oven off. Let the pavlova cool in there for about 30 minutes before removing it from the oven.
• Remove the pavlova from the oven and let it cool a little longer before topping. This would be a good time to prep your topping ingredients.
  • Make the cream by whisking the coconut cream until it creates stiff peaks. Add in the rest of the cream ingredients and whisk until smooth. Be careful not to over-whisk here.
  • Rinse berries and peel and dice oranges.
  • Chop the shelled pistachios, I like to buy the salted ones, with a large chef’s knife or food chopper.
  • Make chocolate shards by melting your chocolate, and then spreading it into a thin layer on either parchment or wax paper, and then freezing for about 5 minutes. Once it’s solid again, break it into shards with either your hands or something hard that you can hit the chocolate with.
• Top the pavlova!
  • Spoon and gently spread the cream onto the top of the pavlova. A little spoonful will do for each mini one.
  • Evenly distribute the berries and oranges all around the top. One each for a mini works perfectly.
  • Add your shards of chocolate all around the top as well. One shard for a mini.
  • Sprinkle the chopped pistachios all over the top for both the large and minis.
• That’s it, you did it! Even though there is a lot to know to make a successful pavlova, it is so worth it. They can be fiddly, so don’t worry if yours cracks! I mostly don’t move mine from the parchment, but if I really want to put it on a cake stand, it will most likely crack a little bit somewhere.
• Whether it cracks or not, it still tastes absolutely amazing. I typically make this on days it’s not raining, but the day I made it and took pictures for this post, it was raining all day. Mine cracked more easily than normal, and that’s totally fine! If you’re going for the best presentation, then I would recommend making it on a dry day. YOu can also make the base a day or two in advance, store it in an almost airtight container (you don’t want moisture in there), and the add toppings right before serving.
• Feel free to reach out with any questions!

Substitutions:

• Lemon juice can be used in place of apple cider vinegar.
• Corn starch can used for tapioca starch (it won’t be “grain free”).
• Heavy cream can be used in place of coconut cream (it won’t be “dairy free”)
• Dairy yogurt or a different dairy free yogurt can be used in place of the yogurt suggested.
• You can also use vanilla yogurt, but you would need to omit the vanilla in the cream and a little bit of the maple syrup as well.
• Powdered sugar or honey can be used in place of the maple syrup.

Recommended kitchen items:

• Bosch stand mixer. I don’t own a Kitchen Aid (yet), so I always use my Bosch mixer for baking. They really stand the test of time and are fantastic for kneading dough.
• Stainless steel measuring utensils. The spoons are my favorite, because they fit in spice jars. I also love using stainless steel, instead of plastic.
• Magic Bullet Mini. This is a great little blender for sauces or a smoothie when you’re out of town. I used it for lots of things, and used it to blitz the sugar in this recipe.
• Wilton 6B piping tip. This is the tip I use to make the mini pavlovas. It’s great because it’s large.
• Electric hand mixer. I have had this hand mixer for about 11 years now, and it is as good as when I first got it. The snap-in storage box is really handy and keeps things tidy.
• Unbleached parchment paper sheets. I have these in a drawer, and love that I can pull one out when I need it. I also love that these sheets are unbleached.

I hope you love this recipe, and would love to hear about how making it went for you! Share with me in the comments below, on Pinterest, or @whitsfoodfit on Instagram.