Cookies and cream pavlovas with crunchy shells, chewy marshmallowy middles stuffed with a vanilla bean whipped cream and crushed raspberries.
Cookies and cream mini pavlovas with crunchy shells, chewy marshmallowy middles stuffed with a vanilla bean whipped cream and crushed raspberries.
This recipe has been a long time coming. I first talked about these when I shared my oreo meringue brownies last fall. I had first made these over the summer prior when I decided to ‘speckle’ a meringue with oreo crumbs as if I were making a mcflurry. It was delicious (even before I baked it, lol) and I ended up making it again and baking it into a layer on top of the brownies. It’s a very popular recipe and if you haven’t seen it yet, check it out!
I wanted to share this recipe with you once I found a way to break up the sweetness of the meringues (after all, we’re putting cookie crumbs into a cookie!). I saw this recipe via food52 and couldn’t get that dark red ripple out of my mind. It’s fabulous here. In a regular pavlova you’d top them with whipped cream and berries (maybe a fruit curd too!) but we’re just going to crush the berries and fold them into the whipped cream. It’s easy and perfect and they are going to be gobbled up before you know it!
The size of these is much closer to a meringue cookie, you can see me breaking into one here for reference but they are texturally more of a pavlova (historically called meringue cakes apparently!). Meringues are fully crispy and dry throughout but these have a marshmallow gooey texture in the center. That said, pavlovas usually have some vinegar and cornstarch to keep the center soft but we won’t need that here.
To make them I use the swiss method: warming sugar and egg whites together over simmering water and whisking until sugar granules are mostly melted. Another option is to warm the sugar in the oven (see this Ottolenghi recipe for how to) and slowly pour it in as the egg whites whisk.
The things you want to get right:
This is the most likely step where you’ll have trouble and it’s important to know what you are looking for in terms of doneness rather than following the recipe instructions. Ovens vary and depending on how big or small you’ve scooped the meringue they will vary in baking time.
Look for a dry exterior and try to gently lift one from the parchment paper. If it sticks, they aren’t done yet and need more time. If it lifts easily, they are done and you can shut the oven off. The pavlovas should sit in the oven overnight.
Basically, oreo crumbs! Important: you’ll need to remove the cream from the center of the cookies before you process them. We want to avoid having the cream inside because it will add sugar and fat to the meringue which will cause it to be too sweet and/or break.
A couple things to keep in mind when making this:
You can either use your fingers to gently break off the top of the pavlova and spoon the whipped cream into the center or you can press them down and indent them (either before or after they bake – if you do it after they’ll shatter a bit), then spoon the cream into the center.
How should I serve the pavlovas?
Once the raspberries are in the whipped cream, these should be served immediately. As the whipped cream sits on the pavlovas it adds moisture and the pavlovas will lose the crisp exterior.
Can I substitute the raspberries with a different berry?
You could but I will say that having a tart berry really helps balance everything out here. Strawberries would lend little nuance to the dish and blueberries might be a bit too delicate in taste here but you do you!
Can the pavlovas be made ahead of time?
Yup! After you bake them they’ll cool in the oven overnight and in the morning you can transfer them to an airtight container where they will keep for a few days.
Can the whipped cream be made ahead of time?
You can make the whipped cream the morning of when you plan to serve it but don’t’ add the berries until right before serving as they will ‘bleed’ into the cream.
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Such a wonderful dessert! I added dried raspberries to the whipped cream as I didn’t have fresh raspberries on hand and it worked well! Love the pairing of tart and sweet. Delish!
These are as addicting as a cookies and cream milkshake! So, so good. Sadly, I missed on the wonderful texture of a crispy exterior and soft center, because I put them into 325 oven instead of 225, and only figured out the mistake after about 20 min of baking. Thankfully, they didn’t burn, they were just cooked all the way through. I’m not sure what was more impressive — the flavor of the meringues or the robustness of a receipt that can be cooked at a (very) wrong temperature and still be good!
These are a glorious treat! They are so good we devoured half of them before we could even get this whipped cream topping on them!
Turned out great! I always find pavolvas a fun, unique dessert, and these are no exception. I used 4 egg yolks for a pie, so I was happy to see this perfect use for my egg whites! Love that they are individual servings. Great contrast of colors, textures and sweet/tart. Will make again! Thanks!
Hello! This recipe looks amazing!! As I’ve never made meringues nor pavlovas so super excited to try this recipe, before I get started I have a question regarding ‘ Turn off the oven and leave them there overnight (or at least for a few hours).’
Does the oven need to be completely cooled down, or is it okay to turn off oven while still cooling down and leave the pavlovas inside?
Thanks!
Hi there , I’m having some trouble with this recipe , I put them in the oven at 200 F , and after an hour they were still very soft and very much stuck to the parchment. They’ve been in there now for two hours and they are still pretty soft and sticking to the parchment , I must be doing something wrong but I’m not sure what. Maybe they are done even though they are still sticking ? Should they be soft ? I imagined they would be hardened on the outside like a French macaroon, but they are kinda marshmallowy. Not sticky though. Any ideas ?
Hi Franny! They should be crispy to touch on the outside. A few things can affect the meringue’s structure: sugar not being dissolved, meringue not being whipped long enough and general humidity in the environment. Also! I am updating the oven settings to 225; my oven runs hot so I always bake at a lower temperature when making meringues & pavlovas. If you can, DM me on IG and I can try to troubleshoot with you.
They stay in the oven while they and it cools. So all you need to do is shut off the oven.