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Mini Pavlovas with Lemon Curd

Mini pavlovas with lemon curd and macerated strawberries. They’re a great make-ahead dessert!

Mini pavlovas are a great dessert to feed a crowd. The components can be made ahead of time and when you’re ready to serve, the pavlovas can be filled. This way they stay crispy on the outside, and soft and marshmallowy on the inside.

bird's eye view of mini pavlovas with lemon curd

Mini pavlova nests

A pavlova is a delicious meringue cake named after a Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova. These single-serve pavlovas are made of meringue that is piped like nests on parchment paper. Bake them in a low oven until dry and crisp on the outside, with a marshmallow center.

Pipe a flat circle first, then build up sides around the circle by piping layers of meringue, around and around. These walls will help to keep the fillings in place when serving.

Pavlovas need a dry environment in order to stay crispy on the outside. If you live in a humid environment, this recipe might not work so well for you.

mini pavlovas with lemon curd

The fillings

Fill the mini meringue nests with whipped cream, homemade lemon curd, and macerated strawberries and mint.

The tangy lemon curd and fresh strawberries are the perfect matches to the sweet pavlova base.

Lemon curd

The lemon curd is very similar to my usual lemon curd recipe, except this time it’s using only egg yolks as a thickener. It’s using all the egg yolks that are split from the whites for the pavlova. That way there’s no waste!

Macerated strawberries

Chop fresh strawberries and macerate them in granulated sugar and shredded fresh mint. The sugar draws out the excess moisture from the strawberries and enhances the flavour. I use this combination in my strawberry Swiss roll too.

strawberries covered with mint and sugar

The ingredients

For this recipe, you will need –

Pavlovas

  • 5 large egg whites
  • Sugar – Caster sugar works best as it’s a much finer granule and will dissolve easier. However, if you don’t have any, granulated sugar works too.
  • Cornstarch
  • Lemon juice or white vinegar
  • Vanilla extract or paste
  • Heavy cream (for topping)

Lemon curd

  • 5 large egg yolks
  • Lemon juice
  • Lemon zest
  • Granulated sugar
  • Butter
  • Salt

Macerated Strawberries

  • Fresh strawberries
  • Granulated sugar
  • Fresh mint leaves

The method

Pavlovas

Begin with the pavlovas as they will take the longest. I bake them on one large baking tray, but you can also split them over two trays.

Separate 5 eggs. Keep the yolks in a separate bowl, you will need them later for the curd. In a bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large bowl with electric hand beaters, add the egg whites.

Beat on high for about 1 minute until they are foamy. Slowly begin adding in the sugar, a tablespoon at a time. Keep beating on high until the egg whites are thick, smooth, and glossy, and hold stiff peaks.

meringue peaks

Turn the beater on low, and mix in the cornstarch, lemon juice, or vinegar and vanilla.

Line one or two large baking trays.

Spoon the meringue into a piping bag and pipe 8 flat circles evenly on one large tray, or 4 on each tray if using two. Ensure there is about 8-10cm between each pavlova. Once your 8 circles are piped, begin piping walls around each circle and building your pavlovas up to create little nests, or mini meringue cups.

meringue nests

You can also skip the piping bag and simply place 8 spoonfuls of meringue on the trays. If doing that, use the back of a spoon to make indents in the meringue to create the nest.

Bake them in a low oven at 110°C/230°F for around 1 hour and 30 minutes. Then turn off the oven and let the pavlovas cool in there for at least two hours until crisp.

Lemon curd

In a microwave-proof bowl, whisk together the reserved egg yolks and sugar until well combined, then whisk in the lemon juice and zest.

Place the bowl in the microwave and cook in 40-second increments, stirring each time for around 4 minutes in total. This time may increase or decrease depending on your microwave strength.

Check that the curd is thick enough by dipping in a metal spoon. The curd should easily coat the back of the spoon.

Stir the cold cubed butter through the hot curd and stir until smooth, then pour the finished curd through a sieve into a clean jar. It will thicken as it cools.

Alternatively, if you have no microwave you can make the curd in a hot water bath, see how to in this lemon curd post.

Strawberries

Chop fresh strawberries into small pieces and add them to a bowl along with sugar and fresh mint. Stir, then leave it to sit for at least 15 minutes.

Cream

In a bowl, whip the heavy cream until medium peaks form.

Serving

When ready to serve, fill the pavlovas with a spoonful of whipped cream, lemon curd and top it with the strawberries. Once the pavlovas are filled they are best served straight away.

mini pavlovas with lemon curd

Make ahead

All the components of this mini pavlova recipe can be made ahead of time.

  • The mini pavlovas – These can be made up to 4 days ahead of time and kept in a dry, airtight container at room tempertaure. Note- they need to be kept dry, so in very humid places this may not work as well
  • Lemon curd – This can be made up to a week in advance and stored in the fridge, or it can be frozen for up to three months. If you are making the curd before the pavlovas, the egg whites can be frozen until you’re ready to make the meringue.
  • Macerated strawberries – These can be prepared up to 3 days in advance
  • and stored in the fridge in an airtight container.
  • Whipped cream – This can be prepared up to a day in adance and stored in the fridge in an airtight container.

Other topping ideas

If lemon curd isn’t what you’re craving you could try –

  • Berries and cream
  • Chocolate ganache
  • Passionfruit curd
  • Kiwifruit and cream
a half eaten mini pavlova

Related recipes

mini lemon curd meringues.

Mini Pavlovas with Lemon Curd

Yield: 8
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Cooling time: 2 hours
Total Time: 3 hours 50 minutes

Mini pavlovas with lemon curd and macerated strawberries. They're a great make-ahead dessert!

Ingredients

Pavlovas

  • 5 large egg whites
  • 250g (2 1/4 cups) caster sugar or granulated sugar*
  • 2 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice or white vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla paste

Curd

  • 5 large egg yolks
  • 150g (3/4 cup) granulated sugar
  • 125g (1/2 cup) lemon juice
  • Zest of a lemon
  • 85g (6 Tablespoon) unsalted butter, cubed
  • 1/8 tsp salt

Strawberries

  • 200g (1 heaped cup) fresh strawberries
  • 25g (2 Tablespoons) granulated sugar
  • 5-6 large mint leaves, shredded

Cream

  • 250g (1 cup) heavy cream

Instructions

Pavlovas

  1. Preheat the oven to 110°C/230°F regular oven (no fan-bake.)
  2. Separate five eggs. (Place the yolks in a small bowl and set them aside for the curd.)
  3. Place the whites in a clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whisk on high for around a minute until the whites are foamy. Add the sugar, a tablespoon at a time, and keep whisking on high. The mixture will become thick, shiny, and glossy. Whisk until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is thick and shiny. This will happen the fastest with castor sugar. If using granulated sugar, whisk until the mixture is thick and glossy; there may still be a few very small granules when some mixture is rubbed between your fingers. You don't want to overbeat the egg whites.
  4. Turn the mixer on low and mix in the cornstarch, vanilla, and lemon juice.
  5. Line a large baking tray with parchment paper.
  6. Spoon the meringue into a piping bag and pipe eight flat circles evenly on one large tray or four on each tray if using two trays. Ensure there is about 8-10cm between each pavlova. Once your eight circles are piped, begin piping walls around each circle and building your pavlovas up to create little meringue cups.
  7. Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Turn off the oven and let the pavlovas cool there for at least two hours until cooled and crisp. Don't open the oven during the baking and cooling period.

Lemon curd

  1. Whisk the reserved egg yolks and sugar until well combined in a microwave-proof bowl, then whisk in the lemon juice and zest.
  2. Place the bowl in the microwave and cook in 40-second increments, stirring each time for around 4 minutes. This time may increase or decrease depending on your microwave strength.
  3. Check that the curd is thick enough by dipping it in a metal spoon. The curd should easily coat the back of the spoon.
  4. Stir the cold cubed butter through the hot curd and stir until smooth, then pour the finished curd through a sieve into a clean jar. It will thicken as it cools. Alternatively, if you have no microwave, you can make the curd in a hot water bath; see how to do this in this lemon curd post.

Strawberries

  1. Chop fresh strawberries into small pieces and add them to a bowl along with sugar and fresh mint. Stir, then leave it to sit for at least 15 minutes.

Cream

  1. In a bowl, use electric beaters to whip the cream until medium peaks form.

Serving

  1. Fill the pavlovas with a spoonful of whipped cream and lemon curd, and top it with the strawberries. Once the pavlovas are filled, they are best served straight away.

Notes

All the components of this mini pavlova recipe can be made ahead of time. See the above post for details.

*Caster sugar works best for pavlovas, as the finer granules will dissolve more easily. Granulated sugar does still work too, it will just not dissolve as well.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 473Total Fat: 25gSaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 202mgSodium: 132mgCarbohydrates: 56gFiber: 1gSugar: 54gProtein: 8g

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