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This Pavlova Wreath is a show stopper! Not only is it gorgeous, it is also delicious and your guests won’t be able to stop raving about.
This amazing holiday pavlova wreath dessert is made with a meringue base, topped with whipped cream and then garnished with fresh berries, and a raspberry sauce. We love pavlova at our house and a couple of our favorite meringue desserts are Red Raspberry Pavlova and Boccone Dolce
What is Pavlova?
Besides one of my favorite desserts of all times, pavlova is a meringue dessert that was named after the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova. The dessert was originally created in Australia, in honor of the ballerina during one of her tours. Pavlova is a crispy meringue shell that is usually topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit. It can be made into any shape and today we are making it into a pavlova wreath.
Pavlova Wreath is the perfect holiday dessert. It looks pretty and festive along with being light and airy and is a great dessert to serve after a big holiday meal. It is also naturally gluten free.
Can I Make Pavlova Ahead of Time?
The meringue can be made ahead of time and just stored in a dry place (not a refrigerator) for up to two days. The oven is a great dry place to store it. Just don’t forget and turn your oven on!
Don’t add the whipped cream or berries until you are ready to serve. If you have any leftover pavlova it can be kept in the refrigerator but it really doesn’t keep very well so you should just eat it all!
How Do You Make Pavlova?
- Line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper. Trace around a dinner plate with a pencil to make your wreath shape. Turn parchment paper over, you should be able to see the pencil mark through the parchment paper. I used a 11″ dinner plate but you can use any size you want. Just make sure it isn’t larger than your baking sheet. An 11″ wreath feeds 6-8 people depending on how big you cut the pieces. If you need to feed 4-5 people you could cut the recipe in half and do a smaller wreath.
- Beat the egg whites and cream of tarter until egg whites are foamy. Gradually add the sugar in as the mixer is beating, adding a tablespoon or two at a time. Beat until the mixture is glossy and thick, and the peaks are stiff. Mix in vanilla.
- Use an ice cream scoop to scoop the pavlova onto the circle traced on your baking sheet. Place the meringue on the inside of the line you have drawn.
- Place a second row of meringue on the inside of the first row, place your scoops close together.
- Using a knife or an offset spatula, smooth the tops of the scoops of meringue together, connecting the scoops together.
- Bake pavlova in a preheated oven. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F and as soon as you put the pavlova into the oven reduce the heat to 250 degrees F. Bake for one hour and then turn off the oven. Let meringue wreath sit in oven for an additional hour. I will often make the meringue an hour before I go to bed and then just let it sit in the oven overnight. It is a nice dry place.
HOW DO I TELL IF PAVLOVA IS DONE?
Gently touch the meringue and if it seems dry and you can see cracks on the top and sides, it is done. A meringue should be dry and crunchy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. Once it is cooled it is ready to garnish and serve.
After it has cooled, you can carefully transfer it to another serving plate if you like, just beware that it will crack as you move it. I have served it right off the baking sheet before, not the prettiest serving dish but no one seems to care once they taste it! You can cover any cracks and breaks with the whipped cream. You can find a tutorial on how to make sweetened whipped cream here. 
After adding the whipped cream, add fresh raspberries, strawberries and pomegranate seeds. You can also add blueberries, blackberries and cranberries if you like. In addition to the berries I drizzled it with a raspberry sauce I made from fresh raspberries.
You could also drizzle it with chocolate if you prefer. See directions below for making the raspberry sauce. For the final touch I add a few springs of mint to help make it look more like a wreath!
Again, the pavlova is best served right after adding the whipped cream and berries but will hold up for a while in the refrigerator if needed. Use a sharp serrated knife to cut the meringue. It will crumble and fall apart a bit when you cut it but it still tastes amazing!
Other favorite holiday desserts:
- Peppermint Cake Roll
- Ice Cream Pie
- White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake
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Pavlova Wreath Recipe
Pavlova Wreath
Ingredients
- 6 egg whites
- 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 pint heavy whipping cream whipped
- 1 cup raspberries
- 1 cup strawberries sliced in half
- 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
- raspberry sauce see recipe below
- fresh mint springs
Raspberry Sauce
- 3/4 cup raspberries
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 6 Tbsp water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
- In a clean, dry mixer bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until foamy.
- Gradually add sugar, 1 Tbsp at a time, beating continuously at high speed until sugar is dissolved and stiff peaks form, egg whites will be glossy.
- Beat in vanilla
- Cover baking sheet with parchment paper and trace around an 11" dinner plate with a pencil to make wreath shape. Turn parchment paper over so pencil is on the bottom side but you can still see it through the paper.
- Use an ice cream scoop to scoop meringue onto parchment covered baking sheet placing scoops of meringue inside the wreath line. Place a second row of scoops of meringue inside the first row.
- Use a knife or offset spatula to gently connect the scoops of meringue on the top.
- Place in oven and immediately lower the heat to 250 degrees F. Bake for one hour. The meringue should be dry to the touch and may have small cracks. Turn off the oven and let the meringue sit in the oven for an hour or overnight.
- Right before serving, top meringue with whipped cream and add berries.
- Drizzle over top of berries with raspberry sauce. Garnish with fresh mint.
Raspberry Sauce
- Add raspberries, sugar, lemon juice and water into a small sauce pan.
- Cook over medium heat, smashing berries with the back of a spoon.
- Bring to a boil and then simmer for five minutes.
- Pour mixture into a fine mesh strainer and strain juice into a bowl. Throw away the seeds left in the strainer. Refrigerate until cooled. It will thicken as it cools.
Nutrition Facts:
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Nicole says
I made this for Christmas! It was so good and everyone loved it. Definitely adding it to my Christmas menu from now on. The only thing was my raspberry sauce that I made ahead of time never thickened up. I wrote a note for next year to try to thicken it before I put it away to cool next year.
Sonia M Reyes says
Love this.
Leigh Anne says
Yeah! So glad you all enjoyed it.