Sticky Toffee Pavlova

A crisp and marshmallowy meringue base is piled high with clouds of mascarpone cream, drizzled liberally with a sticky toffee sauce and generously topped with a soft date cake crumble.

Prep Time1

Cook Time1 45

Total Time8

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Australian

Servings: people

Calories: 595kcal

Author: Georgina Hartley

Ingredients

Meringue Base

6 egg whites 180g
300 g caster sugar
1 tablespoon cornflour cornstarch
1 teaspoon rice vinegar or fresh lemon juice

Sticky Toffee Sauce

100 g unsalted butter
70 g dark muscovado sugar
120 g double cream

Date Crumbles

60 g medjool dates about 4
1 English breakfast tea bag
100 g almond butter
60 g almond flour
Zest 1 orange
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
⅛ teaspoon salt

Mascarpone Cream

300 g double cream
250 g mascarpone
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Making The Meringue Base

Pre-heat oven to 160°C / 140°C fan assisted / gas mark 3 / 320°F.
Draw a circle of 18cm (7 inches) (draw round a 7 inch round cake tin) on baking parchment.
Place the baking parchment, drawn side down on a large baking tray.
In a spotlessly clean mixing bowl pour the egg whites and whisk on a medium -low speed (setting 4 on a standard stand mixer) until thickened and formed soft peaks.
Continue whisking the egg whites and add the sugar one tablespoon at a time, waiting about 10-15 seconds between each addition of sugar. Scrape down the sides of the bowl before every tablespoon to make sure all the sugar is being whisked in. Continue until all the sugar has been added. Then continue whisking on medium – low speed for a further 5 minutes.
Check the consistency of the meringue between your fingers, it should be silky smooth without any gritty sugar. If it is still gritty then whisk for a further 5 minutes. Continue checking every 5 minutes until the meringue is silky smooth with no grainy sugar. It will be thick, smooth and glossy.
Finally add the vinegar, cornflour and salt and mix for a final 2 minutes to make sure it’s well combined.
Use a blob of meringue under each corner of the baking parchment to secure it in place to the baking tray. Spoon the meringue into the centre of the drawn circle on the baking parchment. Smooth out with a silicone spatula to the shape of the circle to form a tall cylindrical structure. Use a small palette knife to make a pattern up the sides of the meringue.
Place the meringue in the oven. Immediately turn the oven temperature down to 120°C / 100°C fan assisted / gas mark ½ / 250°F and bake for 1 ½ hours.
Check the meringue by cracking open the door a little to see, it should look crisp and dry.
Switch off the oven and leave the oven door cracked open for the meringue to cool and dry out.

Sticky Toffee Sauce

In a small saucepan start melting the butter. Once the butter has half melted then whisk in the brown sugar.
Continue whisking the butter and sugar until thickened and the sugar has dissolved. It should take about 3 minutes.
Pour in the double cream slowly and whisk in to combine.
Once hot (not boiling), remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Date Crumbles

Place the dates in a small bowl along with the tea bag and cover with just boiled water, stirring in then leaving to soak for 10 minutes.
Drain well, remove the tea bag then add the dates into a food processor along with the almond butter, almond flour, orange zest, vanilla and salt. Pulse until the mixture forms pebbly crumbs.
Remove the crumbs from the food processor and chill until needed.

Mascarpone Cream

Place the mascarpone into a large clean bowl and whisk to loosen.
Pour in the double cream and vanilla and whisk together until it has thickened into soft-medium peaks.

Assembly

Place the meringue base on your serving plate, then spoon in the mascarpone cream. Pile the cream high to achieve a good height and don’t handle the cream too much otherwise it will thicken too much and you’ll have overwhipped cream.
Drizzle the Sticky Toffee Sauce liberally over the top of the cream, making sure to spoon some into the top of the meringue base and drip it down the sides.
Finally scatter the date crumbles.
If you have extra toffee sauce and date crumbles, then serve the rest alongside the dessert in separate bowls for people to spoon extra on top of their portions.

Notes

Eggs. The egg whites used in this recipe are medium size, 30g each. I also suggest you weigh the amount for accuracy. Use fresh new eggs, not from a carton and make sure they are at room temperature.

Ensure the mixing bowl is completely clean to avoid affecting the meringue.
Separate egg whites carefully, using small bowls to prevent yolk contamination.
Keep the mixer on medium-low speed (no higher than 4 on a stand mixer).
Be patient; a pavlova meringue can take up to 45 minutes to form properly.
Add sugar gradually and ensure it’s fully dissolved (no graininess) by rubbing in between your fingertips.
Avoid overbeating; glossy egg whites indicate proper consistency.
Avoid any banging near the oven during the bake and avoid using the oven or hob during baking.
Do not open the oven door whilst the meringue is baking; cool pavlova in the oven overnight if possible.
Cracks are fine; toppings will cover them, and it will still taste great.
Store cooled pavlova in a cool, dark place for up to 24 hours unassembled.
You can make the toffee sauce and the date crumbles ahead of time and store in the fridge until needed.
Whip mascarpone cream by hand to soft-medium peaks and avoid overwhipping.
Assemble the whole pavlova just before serving.
Store any leftovers in the fridge for up to 2 days.

Ingredient measurements

Please note when you see ‘grams’ listed as opposed to ‘millilitres,’ or any other term of measurement, that is not incorrect. I weigh all of my ingredients, including liquids, for accuracy.

US customary measurements

These US measurements for the ingredients provided are based on a conversion calculator. This recipe was tested with metric measurements and I recommend using a digital scale to weigh ingredients for the most accurate results. READ MORE >>> Why you should always weigh vs measuring with cups

Nutrition information

Please note that the nutrition information provided below is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator. It will vary based on the specific ingredients you use. Please seek a professional nutritionist’s advice for further clarification.

The nutrition serving is for 1 portion of pavlova, assuming the pavlova is portioned into 10 servings.

Nutrition