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Easy Strawberry Pavlova

Strawberry Pavlova is an easy, make-ahead, show-stopping dessert recipe. It tastes delicious with the classic combination of strawberries, cream and meringue. With its crisp meringue, billows of whipped cream and juicy strawberries, it also looks beautiful and makes a great centrepiece for a buffet or celebration meal. It is best eaten soon after it has been assembled but you can keep any left over pieces in the fridge for up to a couple of days.

What you need to know about Strawberry Pavlova

Adding the cornflour and lemon juice helps to stabilise the meringue and ensure that your pavlova is crisp on the outside and slightly soft on the inside.
You can make your pavlova any shape you like. Just spoon the meringue mixture into your desired shape. I generally make mine either round or oval but have occasionally made one heart-shaped.
It is important to cook the pavlova and a very low heat. Check towards the end of the cooking time to make sure that it is not starting to turn light brown which is a sign that it is over-cooked. Once the pavlova has finished cooking, open the oven door and leave it to cool in the oven. This should prevent cracking.
It is important to allow your pavlova to cool completely before adding the cream and strawberries. I generally make mine the day before I serve them. They keep very well at room temperature if covered in cling-film or foil.
You should add the cream and strawberries just before you are ready to serve the pavlova. If you add them a long time in advance, they will make the meringue soggy.
It is possible to get sweet and full-flavoured strawberries. However, sometimes they do not taste so good. If you have some flavourless strawberries, cut them in half and put in a bowl with a sprinkling of caster sugar and leave for about an hour before spooning them on to the pavlova.

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What to do with the left-over egg yolks

This recipe uses four egg whites. When I make pavlova, I generally also make ice cream which uses the corresponding number of egg yolks. I have a lot of delicious and simple ice cream recipes listed in my Recipe Index if you would also like to do this. Some of my favourites are Strawberry Balsamic Ice-cream , Elderflower Ice-cream, Lavender Ice-cream, Rose Ice-cream and Lemon Curd Ice Cream.

Other meringue recipes

I love meringues and pavlovas and make a lot of them all year around. Here are some my other favourites.

Meringues – basic meringues sandwiched with whipped cream.
Rose Meringues – similar to basic meringues but flavoured with rosewater
Lemon Pavlova – easy pavlova topped with lemon curd and whipped cream
Cranberry Pavlova – a winter pavlova topped with home-made cranberry sauce!

Strawberry Pavlova

★★★★★ 5 from 3 reviews

Author: Tastebotanical
Prep Time: 15
Cook Time: 60
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Yield: for 6 people 1x
Category: Meringue
Cuisine: English

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Description

This simple Strawberry Pavlova is the perfect make-ahead, show-stopping dessert. It consists of crisp meringue topped with whipped cream and fresh strawberries.

Ingredients

Scale

4 egg whites
Pinch of salt
225 (8 oz) caster sugar
1 teaspoon cornflour
1 teaspoon lemon juice
300 ml (10 fluid oz) double cream
As many strawberries as you like

Instructions

Set your oven to 140 C/275 F/Gas Mark 1.
Whisk the egg whites with salt until they form stiff peaks.
Add two tablespoons of sugar and continue to whisk until combined and the mixture is thick and glossy.
Fold the rest of the sugar, the cornflour and the lemon juice into the whisked egg whites.
Cover a baking sheet with baking parchment or silicon paper.
Spoon the egg white mixture onto the baking sheet to form a large circle or oval.
Place in the oven and bake for 1 hour until the exterior of the meringue is hard to the touch.
Allow to cool.
When ready to serve, whisk the double cream until it forms soft peaks and then spread it on top of the meringue base.
Decorate as you wish with strawberries or other berries.

Keywords: pavlova, strawberries

This recipe has been shared on #CookBlogShare with Apply to Face Blog and #Fiesta Friday with Fiesta Friday and What’s for Dinner with the Lazy Gastronome.

This Rose and Strawberry Cream cake is one of my favourite show-stopping recipes for a summer celebration. It is a basic Victoria sponge cake, delicately flavoured with rose, sandwiched with rose-scented strawberry jam and whipped cream.

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An easy cake recipe for a summer celebration

I created this Rose and Strawberry Cream Cake for a family birthday. My brief was to produce a simple Victoria Sandwich cake with jam and cream with no “funny stuff” (why do my family always say this….?). I tried very hard to stick to the brief and started off with a classic strawberry-and-cream Victoria Sandwich cake but, inevitably, I got enthused by the possibilities of adding an element of rose (strawberry and rose – such a great combination!).

My efforts resulted in a lovely buttery Victoria sponge, sandwiched together with strawberry and rose-flavoured jam and billowing cream, and adorned by romantically-strewn rose petals. I was very proud until my daughter said to me “It’s not the most masculine of cakes, is it?” and I was struck by the realisation that perhaps my hearty, hill-walking husband might not be as enthusiastic about the rose petals as I was….. Luckily, he tends to focus on how things taste and was quite happy with his rather girly looking cake. (And as one of my sons, quite rightly, commented, “you need to break those gender stereotypes, mum…!”).

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What you need to know about my Rose and Strawberry Cream cake

It is very easy to make. I generally make it the day before we are planning to eat it as you need to make sure the cake is completely cool before assembling it.
You don’t need access to fresh roses in order to make this cake as the flavouring comes from rosewater. I have lots of roses in my garden and often make Crystallised Rose Petals to decorate the cake. They are very easy to make but you do need to make them the day before so that they have time to dry off. However, if you do not have access to fresh roses which you are certain have not been chemically-sprayed, you can decorate the cake differently. For example, sliced fresh strawberries or piped cream would look pretty good.
I use my home-made Strawberry and Rose Geranium Jam in this cake but, if you don’t have the time or inclination to make this, you can flavour ordinary strawberry jam with rosewater. Just add a few drops of rosewater to four tablespoons of home-made or store-bought strawberry jam.

Edible flower recipes – rose, lavender and elderflower

As is probably obvious from the title of this blog, I love using floral flavourings in my cooking. For rose-lovers, there are some great easy baking recipes including Almond Shortbread with Rosewater. For dessert, you could try Rose Ice Cream, Rose and Raspberry Pavlova or Rose Meringues. I also have a fantastic easy recipe for delicious floral Rose Petal Jam and an easy-peasy recipe for Crystallised Rose Petals.

Lavender-lovers might like the recipes for Lavender Ice Cream, Lavender Cake and Lavender Shortbread and Honey Cream Tea with Lavender Scones.

For elderflower-lovers, there are recipes for Elderflower Ice Cream, Gooseberry and Elderflower Sorbet and Elderflower and Lemon Cupcakes. I also have a recipe for a classic Elderflower Cordial and also really easy recipes for Elderflower Gin and a lovely floral-flavoured Elderflower Vinegar.

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Other baking recipes

I love home-baking and make a lot of easy, traditional cakes, biscuits (cookies) and desserts.

Rose and Strawberry Cream Cake recipe

Rose and Strawberry Cream Cake

Author: Tastebotanical
Prep Time: 60
Cook Time: 35
Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
Yield: serves 8 to 10 1x
Category: Cake
Method: Baking
Cuisine: English

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Description

This is a show-stopping cake which brings together the English summer tastes of strawberry and rose together with cream and buttery sponge.

Ingredients

Scale

For the cake:

225 g (8 oz) butter (softened)
225 g (8 oz) caster or superfine sugar
4 eggs
225 g (8 oz) self-raising flour
3 tablespoons of milk
1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
1 teaspoon of rosewater

For the sandwich filling:

Either 4 tablespoons of Strawberry and Rose Geranium Jam or 4 tablespoons of strawberry jam plus a few drops of rosewater
300 ml (Half a pint) double cream

For the topping

2 tablespoons of icing sugar
Crystallised Rose Petals to decorate (optional)

Instructions

Method: Cake

Set your oven to 180 degrees centigrade, 350 degrees fahrenheit or Gas Mark 4.
Cream the butter with the sugar. (I usually soften the butter for about 30 seconds in the microwave first as it makes it much easier!)
Gradually add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture. If it looks as if it is going to curdle, add some of the self-raising flour.
Once the eggs have been incorporated add the rest of the self-raising flour.
Add the milk, vanilla extract and rosewater.
Grease your Victoria Sandwich tins or containers and then add the cake mixture.
Bake your cakes in the oven for around 35 minutes. They are done when they are golden brown, springy to the touch and have shrunk away from the edge of the tin. You can test this by inserting a skewer in the middle of the cake – if it comes out cleanly with no mixture attached, your cake is done.
Allow your cakes to cool on a rack before removing them from the tins or containers.

Method: Filling and topping

Spread the rose-flavoured strawberry jam over the top of one of your cakes.
Whip the cream until it forms soft peaks. Spread it on top of the jam. Then place the other cake on top.
Put the icing sugar in a sieve and sift it over the top of the assembled cake.
Decorate the cake with Crystallised Rose Petals.
In the (unlikely) event that there is any cake left over, this needs to be stored in the fridge due to the cream icing. It will keep for a couple of days but, like all sponge cakes, it tastes better when it is freshly made.

Keywords: rose and strawberry cake, victoria sandwich, cream