Our saucy plumpavlova features plums cooked with spices, including cinnamon, and plenty of whipped cream, served with freshly made snowy white meringues.
This pavlova recipe is great if you have never cooked one before (see tip below), but if you would like to perfect your skills follow our expert guide on how to make the perfect pavlova which gives advice on everything from the right temperature to cook your meringues to the best sugar to use.
Pavola first-timers - This meringue is forgiving, so it's an ideal recipe if you've never cooked a pavlova before. Swirl and dollop the mixture to create lots of peaks and troughs for the cream and sauce to puddle and run into. Don't worry if the meringue cracks as you peel off the paper - it'll just add to its rustic charm.
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Yields:
8 serving(s)
Prep Time:
30 mins
Cook Time:
1 hr
Total Time:
1 hr 30 mins
Cal/Serv:
509
Ingredients
6
egg whites
300g
white caster sugar
1tsp.
cornflour
1tsp.
vanilla extract
1tsp.
lemon juice or white wine vinegar
150g
granulated sugar
1/2
cinnamon stick
1/2
star anise
12
large plums, destoned and halved or quartered
2Tbsp.
plum liqueur or port
300ml
double cream
2Tbsp.
icing sugar, sifted
Directions
Step 1
Preheat oven to 140°C (120°C fan) mark 1. Whisk the egg whites until stiff. Gradually whisk in caster sugar, 1tbsp at a time, until meringue is thick and glossy. Whisk in the cornflour, vanilla and lemon juice or vinegar.
Step 2
Lay a sheet of baking parchment on a baking sheet and dab each corner with a little of the meringue. Turn over and stick to the baking sheet. Spread the meringue over the parchment so the pavlova measures about 40.5cm x 30.5cm (16in x 12in). Swirl and dollop the mixture to make peaks and hollows. Bake for 45min-1hr or until the paper peels easily from the pavlova and the base is dry to the touch. Peel off paper and cool on a wire rack.
Step 3
Meanwhile, put granulated sugar into a pan with 300ml (½ pint) water. Heat gently until sugar dissolves, then boil rapidly without stirring for 2min. Add spices and plums, then cover and simmer over a gentle heat for 10min. Remove each plum with a slotted spoon as it becomes tender - some will take longer than others, depending on their ripeness.
Step 4
Turn up the heat under the poaching liquor and bubble rapidly until the liquid reduces by half and is slightly syrupy. Cool to room temperature, then stir in the liqueur.
Step 5
Whip cream with the icing sugar until it just holds its shape. Put pavlova on a board or platter. Swirl over cream and top with plums. Drizzle with the sauce and serve at once.
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
