Persimmon Pavlova

Pavlova is one of my favorite desserts. Definitely in the top three, without a doubt. A giant disk of vanilla flavored meringue that’s shatteringly crisp on the outside and inside is marshmallowy soft. Then it get’s smothered in softly whipped cream and lots of intensely flavored fruit. It’s a hit every time.

Pavlova was one of the first recipes I posted here on the site. It was a pomegranate pavlova and the recipe I use after all these years is almost identical. I think this version uses a touch less sugar. And of course this one gets topped with lots of persimmons, raspberries and blueberries. It’s what I had at the time so that’s what I used, but feel free to use any other fruit you like. You could even drizzle it with chocolate or even top it up with some fruit preserves. Go wild.

This recipe can be slightly fussy, but only because you’re making meringue. My biggest recommendations would be to make sure the bowl you’re using to make the meringue is free of ANY oily residue, it’ll hinder the eggs from whipping properly. The second would be to make sure the egg whites are at room temp. They’ll whip up much easier. Third, once the meringue goes in the oven, do not open the door again until it has cooled. Other than that, it’s a fairly easy recipe to make. It does take a while to cook, but it’s just sitting in the oven, so you’re not actively doing anything. And my last hot tip, if you will, is that you can easily use thawed egg whites. I typically have lots of little baggies filled with egg whites in the freezer leftover from any recipe where I needed just the yolk. I save them specifically with the intention of making a pavlova later on.