I love a good pavlova. If you know what you’re doing, they’re easy to throw together, but they look amazing. They’re also endlessly customizable. My go-to is a pavlova with whipped cream, juicy berries, and a red berry compote. But in honor of passion fruit season, I decided to make a pavlova with passion fruit curd and whipped cream. And boy am I glad I did. Tart, tropical passion fruit is the perfect pairing for sweet pavlova. Throw in some whipped cream for good measure, and you’ve got a balanced and beautiful dessert.
Will I need special equipment?
There are a couple of things you’ll need to make this dessert. Most importantly, an electric mixer. I love my stand mixer, but a hand mixer will work too. You’ll need this to make both the pavlova and the whipped cream. You can make meringue without a machine, but the one time I did it I felt like my arm was going to fall off so I wouldn’t recommend it. If you’re making your own passion fruit curd, you’ll also need a whisk and a fine mesh strainer.
Do I need to make everything in this recipe myself?
Absolutely not! I personally prefer homemade whipped cream to store bought. But if you don’t share that sentiment, go ahead and use it. It’s your pavlova. Passion fruit curd is a bit harder to come by. I’ve seen it sold by restaurants and boutique grocers, but odds are you probably won’t find it at a regular grocery store. I did find some on Amazon. Haven’t tried it myself, but it’s well reviewed! Anyway, feel free to use any whipped cream or passion fruit curd you’d like.
Let’s talk timing.
When it comes to pavlova, patience is a virtue. You definitely don’t want to make it in a rush. That’s because after you bake it should leave it in the oven for about two hours as it cools. This will help prevent it from cracking. If I’m being honest, a crack isn’t the worst thing in the world. You’re going to cover it up with toppings and sauces anyway. But why not avoid it if you can?
Another thing worth noting is that you don’t want to assemble your pavlova until you’re ready to serve it. The texture and look will be best this way. Worry not, though. You can pre-make each component for a quick and easy assembly. Plus, your guests will love watching you put this pavlova together (if you let them – do it in secret if you need to hide a crack)!
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Pavlova with Passion Fruit Curd
Equipment
- Electric mixer
Ingredients
Pavlova Base
- 4 Large egg whites (At room temperature. Save the yolks for cured egg yolks, pasta, or curd!)
- 1 1/4 cup Granulated sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1 tsp Lemon juice Freshly squeezed
- 1 tsp Cornstarch
Whipped Cream
- 1 cup Heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp Granulated sugar
Toppings
- 1/4 cup Passion fruit curd (Recipe linked at beginning of post!)
- 1-2 Fresh passion fruit Optional
- Whipped cream (A couple dollops if using homemade, or to preference if using store bought)
Instructions
Pavlova base
- Preheat the oven to 300° Fahrenheit and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Make the pavlova. In a stand mixer, whisk the egg whites on medium speed until soft peaks start to form. This should take about 4-5 minutes. Then gradually pour in 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar and continue to whisk until stiff, shiny peaks form. This'll take another 2-3 minutes. Once you've got your stiff peaks (meaning when you lift the whisk out of the bowl, a peak forms and doesn't flop over), add in 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 tsp lemon juice, and 1 tsp cornstarch and continue to whisk for another minute until everything is incorporated.
- Transfer the pavlova base to your parchment paper lined baking sheet. I like to do this with a large spoon and then gently sweep the back of the spoon upwards around the entire pavlova to create a beautifully styled exterior. (You can totally skip the sweeping if you're going for a more rustic feel.) Then put the pavlova in the oven and decrease the temperature to 200° Fahrenheit. Cook for about 90 minutes, then turn the oven off and leave it alone for another 2 hours.
Whipped cream
- If making whipped cream, pop a metal bowl for your stand mixer and its whisk attachment into the freezer so that they're nice and cold when you go to make your whipped cream. You'll want to leave them in there for at least 20 minutes before making the whipped cream.
- Make the whipped cream. To do this, pull your bowl and whisk out of the freezer and attach them to your mixer. Add 1 cup heavy whipping cream, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract and 1 tbsp granulated sugar to the bowl and whisk on high for about 1 minute, or until soft peaks form. Be careful not to over-mix!
To assemble
- Add a couple dollops of whipped cream to the top of your pavlova. Then add a few spoonfuls of passion fruit curd on top of that (I used about 1/4 cup, but you can eyeball it). If using, top with fresh passion fruit. I cut mine in half and placed them on top of the pavlova, but you can also scoop the fruit out and add it to the top! Serve immediately.
If you make this, I hope you love it! I know I did. Either way, I’d love your feedback either in the comments or on Instagram. Hearing from you and seeing your creations always makes my day (seriously – tag me on the gram, I love it).
Looking for more tasty desserts? Maybe some that are perfect for Valentine’s Day? I’ve got you covered. Try my cardamom Linzer cookies with raspberry rose jam or my fudgy Black Forest brownies!
