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Mini Pavlovas on a soft blue plate - Valentine's Dinner Ideas
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Mini Pavlova Recipe

Impress everyone with this mini pavlova recipe! Mini pavlovas are great finger food desserts for parties, and are so easy to make.
Course Dessert
Cuisine New Zealand
Keyword mini pavlova, mini pavlova recipe, mini pavlovas, pavlova recipe
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 50 minutes
Servings 35 mini pavlovas
Calories 80kcal

Ingredients

Pavlova Meringue:

  • 4 egg whites
  • 1 cup caster sugar
  • ½ tsp. cream of tartar
  • 1,5 tsps. cornstarch
  • 2 tsps. vanilla extract

Mascarpone Filling:

  • 1 cup mascarpone
  • 1 cup whipping cream cold
  • 2 tbs powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • fresh berries
  • mint leaves (optional)

Instructions

Pavlova Meringue

  • Preheat oven to 320°F. Line two baking tins with parchment paper.
  • In a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer at high speed, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form.
    4 egg whites
  • Gradually add the sugar and the cream of tartar and keep beating at high speed.
    1 cup caster sugar, ½ tsp. cream of tartar
  • Add the cornstarch and vanilla extract. Beat until stiff peaks form.
    1,5 tsps. cornstarch, 2 tsps. vanilla extract
  • Pipe the meringue onto the prepared tins. First pipe a small circle and then pipe on top of it, around the edges, in order to form a well.
    Pavlova shells piped onto parchment paper next to a piping bag full of pavlova meringue
  • Put one baking tin in the oven and immediately lower the temperature to 245°F. Bake for 30 minutes, and lower the temperature to about 200°F. Bake until the meringue is dry when touched carefully.
  • Turn off the oven and open the door half way. Leave the meringues inside to cool down. This will prevent the temperature change from being too drastic and causing the meringue to crack.
    Filling piped into mini pavlovas on a light blue plate

Mascarpone Filling

  • In a large mixing bowl, beat the mascarpone together with powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth.
    1 cup mascarpone, 1 tsp. vanilla extract, 2 tbs powdered sugar
    Four images showing how to make the pavlova meringue using a mixer in a glass bowl
  • In another large bowl, whip the cream until thick. Then, using a rubber spatula, gradually add the whipped cream to the mascarpone.
    1 cup whipping cream
  • Pipe or spoon the filling into the holes of the mini pavlovas. Top with fresh berries and mint leaves. Serve immediately.
    mint leaves, fresh berries
    Piping the mini pavlovas filling in the

Notes

RECIPE TIPS:
  • Don’t store filled pavlovas for more than few hours. You can keep pavlova meringues for few days in the fridge, in an airtight container. Place them in the container after they are completely cool. Alternatively, you can freeze them for up to a month. To do that, the best way is to wrap them with plastic wrap as they are on the baking tin with the parchment paper.
  • Baking properly is the key: To achieve perfectly white pavlovas with no cracks, bake them at low temperature. The best is if you preheat the oven to higher temperature and then gradually decrease it during the baking, until switching the oven off. Don’t take the tin out immediately! You need to leave it to cool down inside the oven, with the door half open. That’s the best way to avoid cracks as they are caused by temperature changes.
  • Add the topping and the decoration right before serving, otherwise the meringue will get soaked by the moisture, and we want it crispy. 
  • Alternatively, you can just spoon the meringue on the sheets instead of piping, but that way your mini pavlovas will be slightly bigger.

Nutrition

Serving: 1pavlova | Calories: 80kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 16mg | Sodium: 12mg | Potassium: 22mg | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 190IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 13mg