Strawberry Lemon Mini Pavlovas

Light and chewy meringue mini pavlovas filled with a tart lemon curd and topped with fresh berries. Just like nests for Easter brunch.

Meringue 101:

What is meringue? Meringue really only involves two ingredients, egg whites and sugar. When you whip them together for a long time, they merge into a shiny and glossy whipped mixture. While it is possible to make these pavlova “nests” with just these two ingredients, stabilizers like cornstarch and vinegar are added to ensure success.

Meringue can be piped or sculpted into any shape that you please, but using the back of a spoon works best for this recipe. Bake slow and low at only 200ºF to bake them until they’ve formed a dry shell on the outside. Then to let them get fully crispy and crunchy, turn off the oven and prop the door ajar. Keep the meringues in the oven and let them fully dry out.

How to make Lemon Curd:

I have quite a few lemon curd recipes on the blog ; it’s a great base recipe and I love all things citrus. Making curd happens completely on the stovetop and only involves two bowls and a whisk. Heat the lemon juice, butter, salt, and half the sugar together on the stove just until the butter melts. Then pour roughly 1/3 of this mixture over the egg yolks and rest of sugar (pre-whisked), and whisk vigorously. This process is known as tempering your eggs and greatly lowers the chance of your eggs scrambling once they are added to the rest of the lemon juice.

From here pour the yolk mixture into the saucepan with the rest of the lemon juice and heat and whisk until a thick, smooth, and homogenous mixture forms. Let cool and fold with whipped cream to make a light and dreamy pavlova filling.

Tips and Tricks for Success:

Making these Dairy Free:

This recipe is naturally gluten free (just be sure your cornstarch is GF). If you need to also make it dairy free, just omit the heavy whipping cream in the lemon curd and use a dairy-free butter in the curd if butters a no-no for you. And if you’re vegan, I would just find a different recipe.

Don’t forget to let me know if you give these a try and leave a review! I love seeing all of your creations

Strawberry Lemon Mini Pavlovas

• Author: dishingwithdelaney
• Prep Time: 30
• Cook Time: 2 hours
• Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
• Yield: 4 pavlovas 1x
• Diet: Gluten Free

Print Recipe

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Description

Light and chewy meringue mini pavlovas filled with a tart lemon curd and topped with fresh berries. Just like nests for Easter brunch.

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

Pavlova Base:

• 4 egg whites (130g)
• 1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp distilled white vinegar

Lemon Filling

• 4 egg yolks (saved from pavlova base)
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar (133g)
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 tbsp powdered sugar

Topping:

• 1/2 cup chopped strawberries
• 1 lemons worth of zest

 

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Instructions

Pavlova Base:

1) Preheat your oven to 200ºF. Trace 4 4-inch circles onto parchment paper. Flip the parchment paper over onto a baking sheet.

2) In a food processor, grind the sugar for 30-45 seconds until sandy but not powdered. Combine the sugar and cornstarch. Your sugar is now superfine.

3) Wipe down the bowl and attachment your stand mixer with the distilled vinegar. In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment whip the egg on medium low until foamy. Once they foam, increase the speed to medium high and whip until soft peaks form.

4) Once soft peaks form, begin adding in the sugar mixture one tablespoon at a time. Continue to whip the mixture for 5-6 minutes until glossy soft peaks form and sugar is fully dissolved.*

5) Spoon the meringue equally onto the circles and smooth with the back of a spoon to form domes. Then make an indent in the middle of each dome using the back of a tablespoon scoop.

6) Bake meringues for 45 minutes at 200ºF. Then turn the oven off and crack the oven door ajar with a wooden spoon or stick. Let dry for 1 hour in that position.

Lemon Curd:

1) Combine the lemon juice, butter, salt, and 1/3 cup sugar together in a saucepan. Heat on low until the butter melts. In a separate bowl combine the yolks and rest of sugar.

2) Once the butter has melted, pour 1/3 of the stove mixture over the yolks and whisk vigorously. 

3) Pour the new yolk mixture into the saucepan with the rest of the lemon juice mixture and whisk on low heat until thick and reaches 170ºF on a thermometer (roughly 4-5 minutes).

4) Pour the curd into a heatproof bowl and let cool.

5) While lemon curd cools, whip the cream and powdered sugar together until medium peaks form.

6) Once lemon curd is cool, lightly fold the curd into the cream to form a fluffy tangy filling.

Assembly: 

1) When pavlovas are completely cool, spoon the lemon filling into the middle of their wells and top with chopped berries and lemon zest.**

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Notes

*You will know that the sugar is fully dissolved when you can rub the meringue between your fingers and not feel granules.

** Best eaten day off but will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for one day.

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Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 pavlova
• Calories: 682
• Sugar: 89.4g
• Sodium: 664.3mg
• Fat: 33g
• Carbohydrates: 92.9g
• Protein: 7.5g
• Cholesterol: 265.7mg

Keywords: pavlova, easter recipe, gluten free dessert

More Easter Recipes:

https://dishingwithdelaney.com/chocolate-strawberry-muffins/