Stage one,  looking beautiful and glossy before going into the oven

This is based on the earlier recipe posted.  Pavlovas can be tricky and variations in individual ovens seem to be the biggest factor affecting the result. You may need to experiment to get the ideal temperature for your oven.

Ingredients:

• 4 egg whites
• pinch of salt
• 8 tablespoons castor sugar
• 1 teaspoon vinegar
• 3 heaped teaspoons cornflour
• 1/2 cup coconut
• whipped cream
• fruit topping

Method:

To make a successful pavlova you need an electric beater. Always have the eggs at room temperature. Place the coconut on a sheet of baking paper and gently toast in a moderate oven for a few minutes until it starts to toast very lightly. Take care, with its high fat content coconut will brown very quickly. Separate the egg yolks from the whites and place the whites in the clean bowl of an electric beater (any grease on the bowl will spoil the result). It is important not to get any of the yolk (not even a speck!) in with the whites. Add the salt to the egg whites and beat at a medium speed initially for 2-3 minutes until they form peaks. Gradually add the sugar, one tablespoon at a time and continue beating on a higher speed for about 10 minutes until the sugar is dissolved and the meringue is thick and glossy (it’s useful to follow this guide as any undissolved sugar will cause the pavlova to collapse and bleed). Whisk in the vinegar and cornflour. Beat for another minute and then mix in the coconut.

Use a spoon and place dollops of the mixture on to a piece of dampened greaseproof paper on top of an oven tray. Shape the pavlova by sweeping up the knife to form furrows. This will help stop the pavlova from collapsing. Preheat the oven to 350 F/ 180 C . Put the pavlova into the oven and lower the temperature to 250 F/125 C and bake for an hour  (if you are using a fan-forced oven  then you will need to lower the temperature by up to 10 degrees centigrade and/or adjust the time). The pavlova should be off-white rather than brown. Turn off the oven and leave the pavlova to cool in the oven. This can be left overnight. The pavlova will reduce in height during the cooling stage but if it’s successful it won’t collapse. Tip the pavlova upside down and peel off the paper and then place on to a serving plate. Put whipped cream on top and decorate with tropical fruit such as mango, pineapple or papaya as shown in the picture.

• Larger pavlovas can be made by increasing the number of egg whites and using 2 extra tablespoons of sugar to each additional egg white. Increase the cornflour proportionately and extra vinegar is not necessary. Larger pavlovas will need a longer cooking time.

This is based on the earlier recipes posted but with berry compote added to the fresh berry fruit. Pavlovas can be tricky and variations in individual ovens seem to be the biggest factor affecting the result. You may need to experiment to get the ideal teperature for your oven.

Ingredients:

• 4 egg whites
• pinch of salt
• 8 tablespoons castor sugar
• 1 teaspoon vinegar
• 3 heaped teaspoons cornflour
• whipped cream
• fruit topping

Method:

To make a successful pavlova you need an electric beater. Always have the eggs at room temperature. Separate the egg yolks from the whites and place the whites in the clean bowl of an electric beater (any grease on the bowl will spoil the result). It is important not to get any of the yolk (even a speck) in with the whites. Add the salt to the egg whites and beat at a medium speed initially for 2-3 minutes until they form peaks. Gradually add the sugar, one tablespoon at a time and continue beating on a higher speed for about 10 minutes until the sugar is dissolved and the meringue is thick and glossy (it’s useful to follow this guide as any undissolved sugar will cause the pavlova to collapse and bleed). Lastly whisk in the vinegar and cornflour. Beat for another  minute.

Use a spoon and place dollops of the mixture on to a piece of dampened greaseproof paper on top of an oven tray. Shape the pavlova by sweeping up the knife to form furrows. This will help stop the pavlova from collapsing. Preheat the oven to 350 F/ 180 C .  Put the pavlova  into the oven and lower the temperature to 250 F/125 C and bake for an hour (if you are using a fan-forced oven  then you will need to lower the temperature by up to 10 degrees centigrade and/or adjust the time).  The pavlova should be off-white rather than brown. Turn off the oven and leave the pavlova to cool in the oven. This can be left overnight. The height of the pavlova will reduce during the cooling stage but if it’s successful it won’t collapse. Tip the pavlova upside down and peel off the paper and then place on to a serving plate. Put whipped cream on top and decorate with lots of colourful fruit as shown in the picture. Trickle compote over the top.

Compote:

• 3 cups of mixed frozen berries
• 1 cup of sugar
• a few drops of vinegar

Method:

Slowly heat the fruit until the sugar dissolves and then bring to the boil. Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes until the mixture is syrupy. Cool (put in the fridge or freezer if in a hurry) and trickle over the decorated pavlova just before serving.

• Larger pavlovas can be made by increasing the number of egg whites and using 2 extra tablespoons of sugar to each additional egg white. Increase the cornflour proportionately and extra vinegar is not necessary. Larger pavlovas will need a longer cooking time.

This is based on the earlier recipe posted but with the combination of blue and red berries it looks attractive. Here I have used blueberries and strawberries. Pavlovas can be tricky and variations in individual ovens seem to be the biggest factor affecting the result. You may need to experiment to get the ideal temperature for your oven.

Ingredients:

• 4 egg whites
• pinch of salt
• 8 tablespoons castor sugar
• 1 teaspoon vinegar
• 3 heaped teaspoons cornflour
• whipped cream
• fruit topping

Method:

To make a successful pavlova you need an electric beater. Always have the eggs at room temperature. Separate the egg yolks from the whites and place the whites in the clean bowl of an electric beater (any grease on the bowl will spoil the result). It is important not to get any of the yolk (even a speck) in with the whites. Add the salt to the egg whites and beat at a medium speed initially for 2-3 minutes until they form peaks. Gradually add the sugar, one tablespoon at a time and continue beating on a higher speed for about 10 minutes until the sugar is dissolved and the meringue is thick and glossy (it’s useful to follow this guide as any undissolved sugar will cause the pavlova to collapse and bleed). Lastly whisk in the vinegar and cornflour. Beat for another minute.

Use a spoon and place dollops of the mixture on to a piece of dampened greaseproof paper on top of an oven tray. Shape the pavlova by sweeping up the knife to form furrows. This will help stop the pavlova from collapsing. Preheat the oven to 350 F/ 180 C . Put the pavlova into the oven and lower the temperature to 250 F/125 C and bake for an hour (if you are using a fan-forced oven  then you will need to lower the temperature by up to 10 degrees centigrade and/or adjust the time). The pavlova should be off-white rather than brown. Turn off the oven and leave the pavlova to cool in the oven. This can be left overnight. The pavlova will reduce in height during the cooling stage but if it’s successful it won’t collapse. Tip the pavlova upside down and peel off the paper and then place on to a serving plate. Put whipped cream on top and decorate with lots of colourful fruit as shown in the picture.

• Larger pavlovas can be made by increasing the number of egg whites and using 2 extra tablespoons of sugar to each additional egg white. Increase the cornflour proportionately and extra vinegar is not necessary. Larger pavlovas will need a longer cooking time.

The pavlova is named after the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova and is regarded in New Zealand as the ultimate special occasion dessert.  June’s pavlovas were her pride and joy. This will make a pav for 10 people. Pavlovas can be tricky and variations in individual ovens seem to be the biggest factor affecting the result. You may need to experiment to get the ideal temperature for your oven.

Ingredients:

• 4 egg whites
• pinch of salt
• 8 tablespoons castor sugar
• 1 teaspoon vinegar
• 3 heaped teaspoons cornflour

Method:

To make a successful pavlova you need an electric beater. Always have the eggs at room temperature. Separate the egg yolks from the whites. Place the whites in the clean bowl (any grease on the bowl will spoil the result) of an electric beater. It is important not to get any of the yolk (even a speck) in with the whites. Add the salt to the egg whites and beat on medium speed until peaks form.  Gradually add the sugar, one tablespoon at a time and continue beating on high speed for about 10 minutes until the sugar is dissolved and the meringue is thick and glossy. Any undissolved sugar will cause the pavlova to weep and collapse. Lastly whisk in the vinegar and cornflour and beat for a further minute.

Use a spoon and place dollops of the mixture on to a piece of dampened greaseproof paper on top of an oven tray. Shape the pavlova and then using sweeping movements bring up the knife towards the centre creating furrows. This will help prevent the sides from collapsing. Preheat the oven to 350 F/ 180 C and as soon as the pavlova goes into the oven reduce the temperature to 240 F/125 C and  cook for an hour (if you are using a fan-forced oven  then you will need to lower the temperature by up to 10 degrees centigrade and/or adjust the time). Turn off the oven and leave the pavlova to cool in the oven. This can be left overnight. The pavlova will reduce in height during the cooling stage but if it’s successful it won’t collapse. Tip the pavlova upside down on to a serving plate. Peel the greaseproof paper away and  put whipped cream on top and decorate with lots of colourful fruit such as a mix of strawberries and blueberries so you get the nice contrast in colours. For an authentic NZ look kiwifruit is also popular!