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Mini Pavlova dessert on the serving plate

Mini Pavlova Dessert

This elegant and easy to make dessert has baked meringue base, filled with passion fruit curd with white chocolate, topped with slightly sweet whipped cream and fresh mango that no one can resist!
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Course Dessert

Ingredients
  

Ingredients for the meringue:

  • 130 g egg whites
  • 260 g sugar
  • 10 g cornstarch (1 tbsp)
  • 10 g lemon juice (1 tbsp)

Ingredients for the frosting:

  • 400 ml cold heavy whipped cream
  • 60-80 g powdered sugar

Ingredients for assembling dessert:

  • Passion Fruit Curd (optional)
  • Mango cubes (optional)
  • Mint leaves (optional)

Instructions
 

  • In a stand mixer bowl place the egg whites and start whisking at the low speed of your mixer, gradually increasing the speed. We need to achieve a foamy consistency.
    Next, decrease the speed to medium and slowly add in the sugar, one tablespoon at a time. It’s best to use caster sugar with fine crystals. The sugar will slowly melt and the egg mixture will become glossy and dense.
    You can check the meringue by rubbing a bit of the meringue between your fingers to make sure there are no undissolved sugar crystals left.
  • Once all the sugar has been added, pour in the lemon juice. The lemon juice helps balance the sweetness of the meringue and helps create a more stable meringue.
    Next, sift in the cornstarch and whisk the meringue on your mixer’s medium speed until you start to see holes forming on the surface.
  • To pipe the meringue, I’ll be using a large piping bag fitted with a large close star piping tip. Put the piping bag (with the piping tip attached) into the glass, pull the edges of the piping bag over the sides of the glass and fill it with the meringue mixture.
  • To pipe the meringue nests, start by piping a dot, then in one continuous motion go around the dot to make a bigger circle, and then go around again on top of the outer circle to make the sides.
    When piping the meringue nests, make sure to leave some space between each nest as they will spread when they are baked.
  • To bake the meringue, preheat the oven to 280 F degrees (140 C), then place the baking sheet inside and REDUCE the heat to 210 F degrees (100 C). Bake for about an hour and 40 minutes. Then turn off the oven, slightly open the oven’s door and let the meringue cool completely inside the oven.
    Baked meringue nests should stay white and easy to peel from the baking sheet. They are very light and have a clear pattern from the piping tip. They also have a crisp outside and slightly chewy texture on the inside.
  • Combine the powdered sugar and cold heavy whipping cream. Using a hand mixer, beat them together until stiff peaks form. Be careful not to overbeat the cream. I’m using a small amount of powdered sugar since the meringue is very sweet, but you can adjust the sweetness of the whipped cream to your liking.
    Transfer the topping into a piping bag fitted with any large piping tip. I’m using the same closed star piping tip.
  • To assemble the dessert, fill the meringue cavity with passion curd. Then pipe the whipped cream. Finish with some chopped mango and mint leaves.

Notes

The eggs need to be at room temperature before you start whipping them.
When separating the eggs, make sure that no drop of water, fat or yolk gets into the egg whites, or they won’t beat.
To make the meringue, make sure that anything that touches the egg whites, like the mixing bowl and whisk attachment, have to be very clean and dry, so no residual oil or fat is left behind to disturb or deflate the meringue.
The right ratio of ingredients for the meringue is one part of egg whites for two parts of sugar. If you want to get great results every time,  don’t change the proportions.
It’s very important to use good quality parchment paper to avoid the meringue sticking to the paper . You can also use a silicon or Teflon mat.
If you like a lot of filling in your Pavlova nests, you can indent the center, after piping your meringue, to allow room for more filling.
Preheat the oven to 280 F degrees (140 C), place the baking sheet inside and REDUCE the heat to 210 F degrees (100 C). Bake for about an hour and 40 minutes. It depends on the size of your meringue nests.
Turn off the oven and slightly open the oven’s door to allow the meringue to cool completely inside the oven.
This is the best way to avoid cracks in your pavlova meringue.