This Easy Pavlova Recipe, it really is the most amazing thing. It’s funny, I didn’t make pavlova for years – purely because I thought it was really hard and complicated. Meringue is tricky, right?
Not so!
It’s dead easy.
And universally popular – everyone always comes back for seconds, there really won’t be any leftovers.

This Easy Pavlova Recipe Serves a big family.
This Easy Pavlova Recipe is a big one which I make for family gatherings and dinners for 8: halve the recipe for smaller groups, as leftovers go soft by the next day (nothing wrong with a leftover portion for an evening treat though…)
How long it will take:
20 minutes prep,
1hr baking,
10 minutes construction
What You Need:
- For the Meringue:
- 4 medium egg whites
- 225g (8oz) caster sugar (I’ve used granulated before with no bad effects)
- 5ml (1tsp) Cornflour
- 2.5ml (1/2 tsp) White Wine Vinegar (I use any wine vinegar in the cupboard, red or white)
- 2.5ml (1/2 tsp) vanilla essence
- Simple Topping:
- Your choice of soft fruit – we LOVE raspberries and blueberries. But straight strawberries are good, as is a tropical topping with kiwi, banana and mango. The choice is yours: two punnets of soft fruit is needed, but really just pile on what you fancy as thick (or not) as you like it.
- 600ml Double Cream
Easy Pavlova Recipe What you do
- Preheat the oven to 150ºC / 140ºC fan / 300ºF / GM 2.
- Line a large baking sheet with baking parchment, and draw round a dinner plate (20cm-ish circle) in the centre of the paper. Turn the paper over so the marking is underneath and won’t transfer to the meringue! (NB – I have used foil in a baking-paper-less crisis, and it worked just fine)
- Place the egg whites in a clean, grease-free bowl and use an electric whisk (a stand mixer makes this even easier), whicking them until stiff and dry.
- Add the sugar, a spoon at a time, whisking all the while until the mixture is smooth, glossy and holds stiff peaks.
- Gently fold in the cornflour, vinegar and vanilla with a large metal spoon. Just be gentle – don’t knock all the air back out.
- Spoon the mixture onto the parchment. With the back of the metal spoon, spread it to just within the circle, making decorative swirls, leaving a shallow dip in the centre.
- Bake for 1hr until the meringue base and sides are crisp but not browned. Leave to cool on a cake rack – cracking is totally normal as it cools.
- Whilst it is cooking prep your topping; for the simple version, just whip your cream until it is gently peaking, and chop any large fruit into bite size pieces.
- Place the cooled pavlova on a large serving plate, spoon some cream on and smooth a layer across the centre.
- Scatter a few handfuls of your fruit on the bottom cream layer.
- Spoon the rest of the cream into the centre, spreading thickly and evenly almost to the edge
- Arrange the rest of your fruits on top (I find topping it a fab job for small helpers), decorate with a few mint leaves and a sieved shake of icing sugar if you’re feeling fancy.
- Nom nom nom.

Easy Pavlova Recipe Alternative Special Topping:
Choice of soft fruit as before
25g (1oz) caster sugar
6 sprigs fresh mint
2 cinnamon sticks, halved
juice from 1 orange
450ml (16fl oz) Double Cream
150ml (5fl oz) Greek Yogurt
- For the Special Topping – Remove all stalks from fruit, halve/quarter any strawberries and place all in a large bowl together.
- Mix in the sugar, 3 mint sprigs, cinnamon sticks and orange juice
- Leave to stand for 2 hrs to infuse.
- Just before eating, whisk the cream until soft peaks form. Fold in the yogurt, and the mixture will thicken into stiff peaks.
- Add cream to the pavlova base as usual
- Drain the fruits (reserve the juice in a serving jug), discarding the mint leaves and cinnamon sticks.
- Spoon the fruit mixture over the cream mix
- As you serve, spoon a little juice over the fruit, and sprinkle with the remaining mint leaves.
- Serve with the reserved fruit juice.
Pavlova not what you’re looking for?
Try this recipe for an amazing Chocolate Courgette Cake, or perhaps go retro with a school dinner’s cornflake tart.
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13 December 2012
please email pavlova recipe.
looks really delicious.
15 February 2014
Thanks for sharing. I made this last Sunday it was AMAZING!!!
3 March 2014
Very nice post. Looks lovely, can’t wait to try it on my family.