This easy Pavlova Wreath is the perfect dessert for Christmas and the Holidays. Combining a cloudy pavlova base, mascarpone whipped cream, raspberry coulis and fresh berries, this festive dessert is sure to impress your friends and family!
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Why we love this recipe
This Christmas Pavlova Wreath is a festive twist on a classic dessert. With a meringue that is crisp outside but fluffy, chewy on the inside, some creamy mascarpone whipped cream, tangy raspberry coulis and lots of fresh fruits, this pavlova is sure to be the centrepiece of your holiday table!
This Christmas wreath pavlova recipe is easy to make and put together but is sure to impress your guests. Almost all of the recipe components can be prepared in advance and assembled on the day. An authentic Australian (or New-Zealander!?) dessert to celebrate the end of the year!
Ingredients
Scroll down to recipe card below for all quantities
What is Pavlova made of:
- Egg Whites: use fresh large egg whites for the best results. Make sure there are no traces of egg yolks as it could prevent the egg whites from whipping correctly. The eggs I used contain approximately 30 grams of egg whites each, for a total of 150 grams of egg whites in the recipe. If your eggs are larger or smaller, make sure to adjust the rest of the recipe accordingly.
Note that I have tried this recipe with aged egg whites (instead of fresh and just cracked) and got much better results with fresh ones. Fresh egg whites may not whip as quickly or large as aged ones, they provide a more stable meringue because they have a stronger protein structure.
- Caster Sugar: or extra fine white granulated sugar. Using a very fine sugar insures it dissolves easily into the egg whites.
- Cornstarch: or cornflour, used to stabilise and thicken the pavlova and give it its marshmallowy interior.
- Cream of Tartar: the secret ingredient to a good pavlova! It helps stabilise the meringue by preventing the egg protein from sticking together and insuring the tiny air bubbles created while whipping don't burst. If you don't have cream of tartar, you can substitute it with white vinegar or lemon juice.
Toppings:
- Whipped Cream: I used my mascarpone whipped cream made from heavy / thickened cream, icing sugar (or powdered sugar), vanilla paste and mascarpone. The mascarpone makes it super luscious and creamy! A regular whipped cream or Chantilly Cream will work as well here.
- Raspberry Coulis: made from raspberries, caster sugar and lemon juice. You can use any other berries but I love this raspberry coulis that is nice and tangy to balance the sweetness of the pavlova base.
- Fresh Fruits: a mix of fresh berries for garnish, including strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and cherries. Use any of your preferred fruits here to customise the dessert to your taste!
How to make Pavlova Wreath step-by-step
1. Making the meringue
- Preheat your oven on 100 degrees Celsius / 215 degrees Fahrenheit. We are gonna bake the pavlova wreath on very low temperature to insure it doesn't crack and keeps a beautiful white, shiny exterior.
- Photo 1: Place your egg whites in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip on medium speed for 3 to 5 minutes or until the eggs have doubled in volume and turned white. I refer to this stage as "light shaving cream", which is a little bit before soft peaks.
- While the mixer is working on medium low speed, start adding the sugar one tablespoon at a time, waiting 10 to 15 seconds between each addition to make sure the sugar is well incorporated. Continue until all the sugar has been added. Stop to scrap the edges of the bowl if required.
- Photo 2: Increase to medium high to high speed and whip until you reach stiff peaks. The meringue should be very glossy and stiff. The sugar should have dissolved into the meringue.
At this point, you might want to check that the sugar has completely dissolved by rubbing some of the mixture between your fingers. You shouldn't feel any granules of sugar anymore. If you still feel sugar, you might need to whip the meringue for longer.
- Photo 3: Add the cornstarch and cream of tartar.
- Photo 4: Whip for about a minute on medium low speed to incorporate the dry ingredients.
2. Piping the Wreath Shape
- Transfer the meringue into a large piping bag fitted with a 1.5 cm open star tip.
- Photo 5: On a piece of baking paper / parchment paper, draw a large circle that is about 20 cm (8 inch) wide. I used a large cake ring as a guide. Flip the paper over (so you don't pipe over the pen mark) and place over a flat baking sheet. I used a perforated baking sheet for even air distribution.
Tip: use small dollops of sticky meringue as glue between the baking paper and baking tray to make sure it does not move.
- Photo 6: Start piping the wreath. Pipe 4 large mounds on over the drawn circle in circular motion, going North, South, East and West. They should be about 5 cm (2 inch) tall and 8 cm (3 inch) wide.
Note that you can also make a wreath from more individual mounds of meringue if you want to feed more than 8 people. Simply pipe smaller mounds of meringue.
- Photo 7: Fill in the space between each original mound by piping four more mounds. If there is space left between the mounds, use any leftover meringue to fill them in. You should get a wreath shape made out of 8 individual mounds.
- Photo 8: Using the back of a spoon (or small offset spatula), lightly smooth out of the of the wreath to get a flat surface and connect each individual mound.
If you do not want to use a pastry bag to pipe the meringue, you can simply use a large spoon and dollop the meringue around the drawn circle.
- Place in the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour. The pavlova should feel completely dry to the touch all around. Turn off the oven and leave the pavlova to cool down inside for about 2 hours, or until back to room temperature.
3. Mascarpone Whipped Cream
- Photo 9: In a large mixing bowl (or bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment), combine the cold heavy cream, powdered sugar and vanilla paste.
- Photo 10: Whip on medium speed for about 5 minutes or until you reach soft peaks.
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- Photo 11: Add the cold mascarpone.
- Photo 12: Continue to whip on medium to medium high speed for a couple of minutes or until you reach stiff peaks. Stop as soon as the cream looks stable to avoid over-whipping which would result in a grainy whipped cream.
- If not using straight away, cover with plastic wrap touching the surface of the cream and store in the fridge.
4. Raspberry Coulis
- Photo 13: Combine the raspberries (either fresh or frozen, thawed & drained), sugar and lemon juice inside a small saucepan. If using fresh berries, you may need to add a few drops of water at the start.
- Photo 14: Place on the stove over low to medium heat and cook for 10 to 15 minutes or until the raspberries have turned into a thick compote. Don't let the mixture boil to avoid burning it.
- Photo 15: Using an immersion blender (or regular stand blender), blend the compote until completely smooth.
- Photo 16: Pour through a thin-mesh sieve and discard any raspberry seeds.
- If not using the raspberry sauce straight away, transfer into a jar or container and keep in the fridge.
5. Assembling the Pavlova Wreath
- Wash all your fruits, pat them dry and cut them to size if required. I cut the strawberries and raspberries in half, kept the blueberries whole as well as the cherries with their stem for colour and volume.
- Place the baked and fully cool pavlova wreath on a cake turntable or cake stand.
- Photo 17: Place small dollops of the whipped cream over the pavlova. Using the back of a spoon or spatula, gently spread it around to fully cover the top of the wreath.
- Photo 18: Generously drizzle the raspberry coulis over the whipped cream. Let it drip on the sides if you want.
- Photo 19: starting with the largest pieces of fruits (strawberries then raspberries for me), evenly cover the wreath. Gently press the fruits into the cream to make them stick.
- Photo 20: with the smaller fruits (cherries and blueberries for me), fill in any holes or areas that might not look full enough.
- Optionally, finish with fresh mint leaves.
- Pavlova is best served straight away as any humidity will weaken the meringue shell. That being said, it should be absolutely fine for a few hours in the fridge if you want to make it before you start your dinner.
Recipe FAQs
If you ask an Australian, they will say it is from Australia. If you ask a Kiwi, they will say it's from New Zealand. Pavlova has been a source of conflict between the two countries for years, each claiming the origin of the dessert.
What is sure is that the dessert was named after the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova after she toured Australia and New Zealand in the 1920's.
Cream of tartar, or potassium bitartrate / tartaric acid, is a dry white powder that is a byproduct of grape fermentation during the wine making process. The acidic powder is used to stabilise the air bubbles created when whipping egg whites and prevent the sugar and egg whites from crystallising.
Since it is acidic, cream of tartar can be substituted with white vinegar or lemon juice.
Absolutely!
- Mascarpone whipped cream: replace with Chantilly Cream (sweetened whipped cream flavoured with vanilla extract or paste)
- Raspberry Coulis: you can use any fruit coulis (or use a chunky version like this Raspberry Compote) such as my Mixed Berry Coulis, Strawberry Coulis or Blueberry Coulis. Other classic toppings include Lemon Curd, Passion Fruit Curd or Passion Fruit Coulis.
- Fresh fruits: fresh berries are abundant in Australia around the Christmas period, making them perfect for this Christmas Pavlova Wreath. But you can really use any combination of your favourite seasonal fruit. Red Wine Poached Pears would be great if Christmas is in Winter for you and Pomegranate will add a gorgeous touch of colour to your pavlova.
Because pavlova - and meringue in general - can be quite temperamental and don't do well with moisture (like in your fridge), it is best to assemble the pavlova wreath as close to serving as possible.
The good news is that basically all the different elements can be prepared in advance so that only the assembly of the dessert has to be done last minute!
Tips & Troubleshooting
- The meringue is not smooth & shiny and / or grainy: this usually indicates that the egg whites were under or over-whipped. A grainy meringue can be due to the sugar not being properly incorporated or fully dissolved. It is really important to very slowly add the sugar to make sure it fully dissolves into the egg whites before baking the pavlova.
- Baking low and slow: the best way to get a pavlova that looks crisp white and shiny, has a fully dried exterior shell and marshmallowy interior is to bake it at the lowest temperature possible for a long time.
- The pavlova cracked in the oven: this usually happens if the oven was too hot or the egg whites were over-whipped. The air bubbles created inside the meringue expand with the heat, making the pavlova crack. It can also happen after being removed from the oven if the pavlova wasn't fully cool (or the interior wasn't fully baked).
- How to tell my pavlova is fully baked: the exterior of the pavlova wreath should feel completely dry and hard to the touch. It shouldn't be sticking to baking paper either. It will also continue to bake in the oven once it has been turned down, insuring that it is baked (or 'dehydrated') throughout.
- What causes sticky pavlova: pavlova - and meringue based desserts in general - don't do well with humidity. Sugar absorbs moisture from the air turning pavlova slightly sticky or soft. Make sure to store the fully cool pavlova base in an air-tight container, away from any humidity.
- Why is my pavlova weeping: when you notice that a pavlova is 'weeping', you are actually looking at the sugar it contains that has turned into a syrup. This can happen if the sugar was not incorporated properly, if the grains or sugar are too thick (only use caster sugar!) or if the humidity in the air is too high.
Storing & Freezing
Because pavlovas are so delicate and sensitive to humidity, it is best assembled and served straight away. That being said, the different elements of the desserts can be made in advance and put together just before serving.
- Pavlova wreath shell: once completely cool down in the oven (about 2 to 3 hours in the oven after turning it off), transfer into an air-tight container and keep away from any humid area. It is best used within 24 hours.
- Mascarpone whipped cream: best made up to 48 hours in advance and kept in the fridge in the meantime. Cover the cream with plastic wrap touching its surface to avoid oxidation.
- Raspberry coulis: will last for a few days in the fridge in a jar or container. It can also be made in advance and frozen, but might need to be re-cooked once thawed to remove any extra water from it.
Unfortunately pavlova cannot be frozen at all.
I am so excited to share that my debut cookbook
"Bite-Sized French Pastries for the Beginner Baker"
was released in December 2023!
Recipe
Pavlova Wreath
Ingredients
Pavlova Wreath
- 5 large Egg Whites - from fresh eggs (approx 150 grams)
- 300 gr Caster Sugar - or superfine granulated sugar
- 6 gr (1 1/2 teaspoon Cream of Tartar - or white vinegar
- 15 gr Cornstarch
Mascarpone Whipped Cream
- 120 ml Heavy / Thickened Cream - min 30% fat content
- 30 gr Powdered Sugar - or icing sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Paste
- 120 gr Mascarpone
Raspberry Coulis
- 120 gr Raspberries - fresh or frozen, thawed and drained
- 15 ml Lemon Juice
- 40 gr Caster Sugar
To assemble
- 300 to 400 gr Fresh Berries (or seasonal fruits) - I used a mix of strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and cherries
- Fresh Mint Leaves - to taste
Disclaimer
I highly recommend using the measurements in grams & ml (instead of cups & spoons) for more accuracy and better results.
Instructions
Pavlova Wreath
- Preheat your oven on 100 degrees Celsius / 215 degrees Fahrenheit. On a piece of baking paper / parchment paper, draw a large circle that is about 20 cm (8 inch) wide. Flip the paper over (so you don't pipe over the pen mark) and place over a flat baking sheet.
- Place your egg whites in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip on medium speed for 3 to 5 minutes or until the eggs have doubled in volume and turned white (just before they reach soft peaks).
- While the mixer is working on medium low speed, add the sugar one tablespoon at a time, waiting 10 to 15 seconds between each addition to make sure the sugar is well incorporated. Continue until all the sugar has been added. Stop to scrap the edges of the bowl if required.
- Increase to medium high / high speed and whip for another 3 to 5 minutes or until you reach stiff peaks. The meringue should be very glossy and stiff. The sugar should have fully dissolves (see note 1).
- Add the cornstarch and cream of tartar. Whip for about a minute on medium low speed to incorporate the dry ingredients.
Piping the wreath
- Transfer the meringue into a large piping bag fitted with a 1.5 cm open star tip and get the prepared baking sheet with the circle drawn (see note 2).
- Pipe 4 large mounds of meringue on top of the drawn circle in circular motion, going North (top edge of the circle), South (bottom edge of the circle), East (right side of the circle) and West (Left side of the circle). Each mound should be about 5 cm (2 inch) tall and 8 cm (3 inch) wide.
- Fill in the space between each mound by piping four more mounds. If there is space left between the mounds, use any leftover meringue to fill them in. You should get a wreath shape made out of 8 individual mounds (see note 3).
- Using the back of a spoon (or small offset spatula), lightly smooth out of the of the wreath to get a flat surface and connect each individual mound.
- Place on the lowest rack of your oven and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour. The pavlova should feel hard and completely dry to the touch all around. If the pavlova starts turning yellow, it means your oven temperature is too high. Turn off the oven and leave the pavlova to cool down inside the oven for about 2 hours, or until it reaches room temperature.
Mascarpone Whipped Cream
- In a large mixing bowl (or bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment), combine the cold heavy cream, powdered sugar and vanilla paste. Whip on medium speed for about 5 minutes or until you reach soft peaks.
- Add the cold mascarpone. Continue to whip on medium to medium high speed for a couple of minutes or until you reach stiff peaks. Stop as soon as the cream looks stable to avoid over-whipping which would result in a grainy whipped cream.
- If not using straight away, cover with plastic wrap touching the surface of the cream and store in the fridge.
Raspberry Coulis
- Combine the raspberries (see note 4), sugar and lemon juice inside a small saucepan. Place on the stove over low to medium heat and cook without letting it boil for 10 to 15 minutes - or until the raspberries have turned into a thick compote.
- Blend the compote with an immersion blender until completely smooth. Pour through a thin-mesh sieve and discard any raspberry seeds.
- If not using straight away, transfer into a jar or container and keep in the fridge.
To assemble
- Wash all your fruits, pat them dry and cut them to size if required. I cut the strawberries and raspberries in half, kept the blueberries whole as well as the cherries with their stem for colour and volume.
- Place the baked and fully cool pavlova wreath shell on a cake turntable or cake stand.
- Place small dollops of the whipped cream over the pavlova and gently spread it with the back of a spoon or spatula to fully cover the top of the wreath.
- Generously drizzle the raspberry coulis over the whipped cream, letting it drip over the sides of the wreath.
- Starting with the largest pieces of fruits (strawberries then raspberries), gently press the fruits into the cream and coulis to evenly cover the wreath. With the smaller fruits (cherries and blueberries), fill in any holes or areas that might not look full enough.
- Finish with a few leaves of fresh mint.
- Serve straight away (see note 5).
Tried this recipe? Make sure to leave a comment and star rating below!
Notes
- to check the sugar has completely dissolved, rub a little bit of the meringue between your fingers. You shouldn't feel any grains of sugar. If you can still feel the sugar, continue to whip for a little bit longer. Make sure to stop as soon as you reach stiff peaks and the sugar has dissolved to avoid over-whipping the meringue.
- you can use small dollops of sticky meringue as glue between the baking paper and baking tray to make sure it does not move. I used a perforated baking tray to create an even air flow under the pavlova.
- If you do not want to use a pastry bag to pipe the meringue, you can simply use a large spoon and dollop the meringue around the drawn circle. You can also make a thinner wreath with more than 8 mounds (10, 12, 14,...) if preferred.
- If using fresh raspberries, you may need to add a few drops of water at the start to prevent the fruits from burning.
- Pavlova is best served straight away as any humidity will weaken the meringue shell and eventually turn it sticky and soft. That being said, it should be absolutely fine for a few hours in the fridge if you want to make it just before you start your dinner.
Nutrition
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