By Yotam Ottolenghi
- Total Time
- 1¼ hours, plus cooling
- Rating
- 4(371)
- Notes
- Read community notes
A Pavlova is among the best desserts to serve at a dinner party, as it brings the wow factor but is also very forgiving. If the meringue cracks in places, you don’t need to fuss as you’ll be covering it with cream and fruit. You can play with the flavoring of the cream and change up the fruits. If you can’t find kumquats, feel free to swap them out for muscat or green seedless grapes, or an orange, peeled and sliced into rounds. You can make the meringue base up to two days in advance, as long as you let it cool completely before storing in an airtight container. Keep it in the coolest part of your kitchen, away from direct sunlight, to avoid any humidity.
Featured in: Yotam Ottolenghi Has Made Thousands of Meringues. This Is His Favorite.
or to save this recipe.
Print Options
Include recipe photo
Advertisem*nt
Ingredients
Yield:8 to 10 servings
- 7ounces/200 grams egg whites (from 6 to 7 large eggs), at room temperature
- 1¾cups plus 2 tablespoons/370 grams superfine (caster) sugar
- 2teaspoons cornstarch
- 2teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- Scant ½ cup/100 milliliters orange juice
- 3tablespoons/40 milliliters apple cider vinegar
- 4fresh rosemary sprigs, plus 1 teaspoon chopped leaves, for serving
- ¼cup/50 grams superfine (caster) sugar
- 2teaspoons lemon juice
- 1¼cups/300 milliliters heavy whipping cream
- Scant ½ cup/100 grams mascarpone
- 2tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon/30 grams superfine (caster) sugar
- 8cardamom pods, shells discarded and seeds finely crushed or ground
- 2large ripe but firm nectarines
- 3ripe but firm yellow or red plums
- 6kumquats (or 1 orange, peeled and sliced into rounds, or additional muscat grapes)
- 1cup/100 grams seedless muscat grapes
- 2passion fruits, halved and insides scraped, or ¼ cup passion fruit purée
For the Meringue
For the Rosemary Orange Syrup
For the Cardamom Cream
For the Fruit Topping
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (10 servings)
531 calories; 15 grams fat; 9 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 98 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 91 grams sugars; 4 grams protein; 84 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered by
Preparation
Step
1
Heat the oven to 350 degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Step
2
Prepare the meringue: Add the egg whites to the base of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment in place and beat on medium-high speed until firm peaks form, 3 to 4 minutes. With the machine running, add the superfine sugar, a spoonful at a time, until the meringue is stiff and glossy, about 4 minutes more.
Step
3
Use a spatula to gently fold the cornstarch and vinegar into the meringue until evenly mixed through. Transfer the meringue to your prepared baking sheet and use a spatula to spread it into an oblong shape that’s roughly 14 inches long and 10 inches wide. Use your spatula to create spiky peaks across the surface of the meringue for a more rustic look.
Step
4
Place the meringue in the oven, then immediately turn the temperature down to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake for 1 hour, until dry on the outside but chewy through the center. Leave to cool at room temperature, about 30 minutes. Don’t worry if it cracks in places.
Step
5
Meanwhile, make the syrup: Add the orange juice, vinegar, rosemary sprigs and superfine sugar to a small saucepan and place it over a medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer, then cook for 6 to 7 minutes, until reduced by about half. Off the heat, stir in the lemon juice and set aside to cool completely. It’ll thicken to a maple syrup consistency as it cools.
Step
6
Make the cream: Add all the ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment in place. Beat on medium-high speed until soft-medium peaks form, 1½ to 2 minutes. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Step
7
Prepare the fruit topping: Use a mandoline to finely shave one side of the nectarine to get very thin rounds until you hit the pit, then shave the opposite side. Chop off the narrower ends and save these to snack on. Repeat with the plums. Set both aside on a large plate, separately. Use a small serrated knife to finely slice the grapes and the kumquats into thin rounds of around the same thickness. Set the sliced kumquats on the same plate, discarding the pits.
Step
8
To assemble, use the parchment paper to help you transfer the meringue to a large serving platter or board. (Alternatively, you can serve it right from the sheet pan.) Top the cooled meringue with the cream by dolloping and spreading it across the meringue using the back of a spoon, leaving a 1-inch gap from the edges. Artfully top with the nectarines, plums, grapes and kumquats. Dot with the passion fruit. Remove the rosemary sprigs from the syrup and place these on top of the fruit then pour the syrup all over the fruit. Lastly, sprinkle with the extra chopped rosemary. Serve right away, or within the hour, as the meringue will soften as it sits.
Ratings
4
out of 5
371
user ratings
Your rating
or to rate this recipe.
Have you cooked this?
or to mark this recipe as cooked.
Private Notes
Leave a Private Note on this recipe and see it here.
Cooking Notes
david outside boston
What a wonderful article. I found, when I worked making pastry for Whole Foods, that a big jar of meringues on the counter drew customers to it like seagulls at the dump.
MWG
"...drew customers to it like seagulls at the dump." made me laugh.
Dorogaya
I always spread a layer of pastry cream on the bottom of the meringue, then top with the whipped cream and fruit. Am I gilding the lily?
Sheila
I love pavlova with very ripe strawberries mixed with a spoon of strawberry or raspberry jam topped by fresh mint.
Lynn Boulger
Maggie Ruggier gets huge props for styling that pavlova.
TinaS
Outside of New York City, where apparently one can buy any ingredient from any culture on the planet, where/how/why would one obtain cardamom PODS?! Can you just leave a note of how to substitute ground cardamom from a jar, please? Usually NYTimes Cooking is so good at that!
Apples'nOranges
We like to make single serving size pavlovas--then you don't have to slice to serve. Leftover yolks can be made into lemon curd, a delicious filling on its own or topped with the fruit and/or whipped cream.
Golem18
No. Different taste. apple cider vinegar is readily available in virtually every supermarket. If you youse white distilled it will taste like your floor mop.
JA
Made this yesterday with homegrown peaches and figs in honey, orange blossom water syrup. It was heavenly and light as a feather for a summer night dinner party with best friends. Perfect!
Ellen Ford
I have no words. Well, that is never true, but I will tell you what is. This recipe is the best thing I have made in a very, very long time. Every bite is a burst of layered flavors and textures, and it’s gorgeous. The kumquats! The passion fruit! The nectarines! Oh my! I made the meringue and the sauce the night before, whipped up the cardamom cream and packed it all up with my mandolin and the fruit to bring to a party the next day. Now I have one word left to say. Sublime….
Susan
You can make the meringue ahead, as mentioned in the header notes. Everything else can also be prepared ahead so you just assemble before serving. Very easy. When serving, expect it to fall apart and be a mess, that's part of the joy of a pavlova (and note that an Eaton Mess is basically a pavlova that has fallen apart ;-)
witloof
Penzey’s or Kalustyan’s via mail order
LWade
Amazon: the death of small business
cesaera
For Joan B prepared meringues will not work for this I prepared meringue is cooked for at least an hour at 200° in order to make it dry and crisp all the way through a Pavlova is crisp on the outside and still chewy on the inside if you make this with store-bought meringues you might have a nice dessert but you won’t have this dessert
Sunset Stella
Can somebody tell me what you do with the 7 egg yolks? it feels wasteful and disrespectful of the chicken (remember the poor chicken?)
JF
8 cardamom pods = 1 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
Claire G. from Chicago
This is the most amazing desert! Complex, yet subtle flavors; gorgeous no matter which fruits you use; can use whipped coconut cream for dairy-free guests.
Katie
While I was quite sure I had "ruined" the recipe at every turn (the meringue seemed too liquidy, and despite my repeated attempts, my rosemary orange syrup never developed into a "maple syrup consistency"), the result was nearly as photogenic as the photo. "Have you tried this yet?" my guests asked after I had served them, and I was sure because I had made it inedible, but I was delighted to learn that it was a delicious crowd-pleaser. I'll be sure to make this again!
KS
Astounding adult dessert with delightful textural and flavor complexity. Earned me the moniker "Goddess of Flavors" from my book club
Sherri
Does the syrup need to be refrigerated, if made ahead?
KS
The sugar and acid content is high enough it should be okay left at room temp for a few hours, but I refrigerated mine and the chilliimade the syrup a bit kore viscous (which better clung to the fruit and pavlova)
Sherri
Can the syrup be prepped day ahead?
Andi
Quite the showstopper! Used locally available summer fruit (nectarines, peaches, plumcots). Couldn't eat it all in one sitting, so nibbled at it the next day, and the pavlova was still crisp and chewy. (Not soggy.). Just a note about the cardamom: I don't think shelling and grinding the seeds was necessary; next time I'd just add around 1/4 teaspoon of ground cardamom. Overall: Highly recommended.
Dev
TinaS - cardamon pods are super common & I'm not in NYC, Amazon sells them with next-day prime too.
Theresa
Question: green cardamom pods or black cardamom pods?
Moira C
Wonderful. A perfect end to a summer supper. The syrup is what truly makes this and don't be intimidated by all of the steps - it goes very quickly. Made while my kids were napping. Went with what I could snap up at the farmer's market so used a peach, a nectarine, some prune-plums, and strawberries.
Dee
TinaS: Look for cardamom pods in South Asian food stores. Online orders from the big biz companies would be my second choice.
gill
Made exactly to instruction except increased the fruit. I wasn’t sure as I was making it. It is stupendous. The flavours really work together and this will be a keeper. Perhaps with the rosemary vinegar syrup on stone fruit to cut the calories.
Jessa
Does the recipe (cook time/temp) change if you’re making individual size merengues?
Ellen Ford
I have no words. Well, that is never true, but I will tell you what is. This recipe is the best thing I have made in a very, very long time. Every bite is a burst of layered flavors and textures, and it’s gorgeous. The kumquats! The passion fruit! The nectarines! Oh my! I made the meringue and the sauce the night before, whipped up the cardamom cream and packed it all up with my mandolin and the fruit to bring to a party the next day. Now I have one word left to say. Sublime….
Private notes are only visible to you.
