Pavlova is one of the first recipes I can remember making with my mum when I was young.  She would separate the egg whites from the yolks, and let me take it from there.  Usually we would make three times this recipe (the 9 eggs/ 18 ounces of sugar blend), and make one big pavlova and as many smaller meringues as the mixture would allow.

The trick with meringues is to take however many eggs you are using and double that number to figure out the amount of sugar needed.  

3 eggs – 6 ounces of superfine sugar – 1 pavlova 

 6 eggs – 12 ounces of superfine sugar – 1 pavlova + 12 meringues

9 eggs – 18 ounces of superfine sugar – 1 pavlova + 24 meringues

1.  Preheat oven to 300°F.  Line your baking sheet(s) with parchment paper.

2.  Separate the yolks from the whites and place into a large clean bowl.  I like to use the egg shell method where you crack the egg on the side of the bowl or on your counter, divide the egg into two halves and then move the yolk from one shell to another as the egg white falls into the bowl below.  It’s really important that you don’t get any yolk into the white, so usually I do this over a smaller bowl, and then once I’ve successfully separated the white from the yolk I pour the white into the bigger bowl that I’m going to beat them in.  Trust me, you don’t want to mess up on your last egg and have to start over so this additional step is well worth your while!!  You can use your yolks later for a pot de crème or a custard if you feel bad wasting them!

3.  Measure out your sugar.  If you can’t find superfine sugar, regular is fine… don’t stress.

4.  Whisk your egg whites until you can lift the bowl upside down and the mixture doesn’t slide out.  I know, risky!  But this is what my mum used to tell me when I kept asking her if they were done yet.  I think they call this the “soft peak” stage.

5.  S-L-O-W-L-Y start to add your sugar.  I suggest no more than a tablespoon at a time and make sure each spoonful is well incorporated before you continue to the next.

6.  Once your sugar is all mixed in, spoon the mixture onto your prepared baking sheet to form a circle approximately 8 or 9 inches in diameter.  Hallow out the center slightly and then use a fork or knife to create little swirls all around the outside of your pavlova.   

7.  If you have doubled or tripled the recipe, take the leftover mixture and form your meringues on another baking sheet.  Spoon heaped spoonfuls onto your parchment paper and use a fork or knife to create little ‘peaks’ of meringue.  This will make them look prettier when baked.  You could also hallow out the center if you want to make mini pavlovas… just use the back of your spoon or a spreading knife to do so. 

8.  Place pavlova into the oven and immediately turn down to 275°F and bake for 1 hour.  Half an hour into this place your meringues in the oven as well.

9.  After 1 hour has elapsed, turn your oven off and leave the pavlova and meringues to dry out as the oven cools.  I usually make them at nighttime and let them dry out overnight.

10.  To serve, fill your pavlova with freshly whipped cream (sans added sugar, it’s sweet enough as is) and berries or whatever fruit you like.  I did strawberries and peach and mixed this with my raspberry puree.  For the meringues you can either sandwich them together with whipped cream, or fill them as you did the pavlova.