Mini Pavlovas with a Blueberry Sauce
There is a dispute on who created Pavlova cake between Australia and New Zealand and I understand because this dessert has such a great balance! The sweetness of the meringue, the smoothness of the unsweetened whipped cream and the freshness of the fruits. Today, I decided to make mini pavlovas with a blueberry sauce. The matcha powder sprinkled on top is mostly for the look of it.
But you can use pretty much any fruits. One of my favorite fruits to use in a pavlova is passion fruit, it creates such a great balance because of its sourness. Gives it a pretty look because of its vibrant color. And add some texture with the crunchy seeds!
When making pavlova, don’t forget that meringue takes time, the mini ones stay in the oven for about two hours. One hour of baking and another one to cool down. If making a big pavlova cake, you’ll have to bake it for one hour and a half.
Piping tips
Stick the parchment paper to the baking sheet with small dots of meringue in the corner. It will prevent the parchment paper to move when you’re piping and to fly away if you’re using a fan oven.
If you’re not comfortable with a piping bag and scared to be inconsistent, draw some circles on the other side of the parchment to guide you.
With a star tip, pipe the bottom part of the meringue, a full circle, starting from the center. Then, pipe the top circle on the edges, leaving the center empty, to make it look like a nest.
When the meringues are cooled down, pipe the whipped cream in the center of the nest with a round tip.
Then, pipe some drops on the edges of the meringue to create another nest.
Using a spoon, pour some blueberry sauce in the center. Sprinkle matcha powder – using a strainer – place a few fresh blueberries and a small meringue on top.
Mini Pavlovas with a Blueberry Sauce
Equipment
- Stand mixer
- Piping bags with star and round tips
Ingredients
Meringues
- 4 egg whites 120-130 g – room temperature
- 1 cup sugar 220 g
- 1 tsp white vinegar
Blueberry sauce
- 2 cups blueberries 300 g
- 2 tbsp water 30 g
- ¼ cup sugar 60 g
- 1 tsp lemon juice 10g
Garnishing
- matcha powder to sprinkle
- 1 cup whipping cream 250 ml
- ⅓ cup blueberries
Instructions
Meringues
- Preheat the oven to 300°F and prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, put the egg whites and start whisking on high speed.
- Once the meringue reaches soft peaks, add the sugar ¼ cup at a time, waiting 30 seconds to a minute between each time. This whole process should last for about 6 minutes.
- Add the white vinegar and keep whisking for 2 more minutes.
- Once the meringue is shiny with stiff peaks, fill a piping bag with a star tip and pipe the bottom full circle – Ø 3 inches. Then a second circle on top, only on the edges, leaving a hole in the middle. Repeat 8 times.
- With the rest of the meringue, pipe some small stars on the other baking sheet. You're going to use them to decorate the pavlova or the plate!
- Put in the oven and reduce the temperature to 250°F. Bake for 1 hour and leave in the oven until it cools down.
Blueberry sauce
- Put the blueberries, the water and the sugar in a pot. Bring to a boil on medium heat, add the lemon juice and reduce the heat. Simmer for 5 minutes. Allow to cool down.
Plating up the pavlovas
- Whip the cream until medium peaks and place in a piping bag with a round tip.
- Put the meringue on a plate, pipe some whipped cream in the meringue nest, and some drops on the edges.
- Using a spoon, pour some blueberry sauce in the whipped cream nest.
- Place a few fresh blueberries on top, sprinkle with matcha powder and add a small meringue!
