This Christmas wreath pavlova is a gorgeous showstopper dessert that can’t fail to impress your family and friends!
Crisp meringue filled with softly whipped cream and piled high with fresh fruits and drizzled with a fresh raspberry coulis. Stunning!
I have to have a pavlova at Christmas time and this Christmas wreath pavlova couldn’t be more perfect. I can’t think of a more beautiful Christmas dessert! It really has that “wow” factor but it is deceptively simple to make.
Crisp, marshmallowy meringue, softly whipped orange cream, fresh fruit and fresh raspberry coulis. What’s not to love?
My peach melba pavlova is always a hit if you would prefer to stick to the traditional shape. I use tinned peach halves in the Winter time which works a treat.
WHY YOU’ll LOVE THIS RECIPE
- Easy to make ahead – you can make the meringue on Christmas Eve morning (or even two or three days before if you like) and decorate it on Christmas Day. And don’t worry – this will take no more than 10 minutes of your precious time. You could also make the raspberry coulis in advance to save even more time.
- Showstopping dessert that tastes as amazing as it looks!
I made this wreath pavlova for Christmas Day last year and to say it went down a storm is an understatement. I’ve made a pavlova at Christmas time for many years, but this particular occasion was the first time I made one in a wreath shape. I saw Mary Berry make one on TV and I was captivated by it.
The meringue is crisp on the outside and marshmallowy on the inside. The little indents in the meringue are filled with softly whipped cream. The fresh fruit is piled high on top and a drizzle of raspberry coulis finishes it off beautifully.
If you’re looking for a spectacular festive dessert that cannot fail to impress, then the search is over!
CHEATS VERSION
Don’t have the time or don’t feel like making the meringue from scratch? I completely understand. This dessert can easily be made with shop bought individual meringues! Shhhhh don’t let on, they’ll never know if you don’t tell them!
A pavlova is baked in a low oven for quite a long time. The low temperature allows the meringue to set on the outside and retain the crisp white shell.
HOW TO MAKE A CHRISTMAS WREATH PAVLOVA
To make the meringue
Preheat the oven to 140C/120Fan/280F. Line a very large baking tray with baking parchment. *When I made the pavlova wreath for the first time I realised i didn’t own a big enough tray, so I used my large oven tray! I turned it upside down and lined with baking parchment*
Take a large bowl and using a pencil, draw a circle on the baking parchment. This will give you a guide for the wreath shape. Alternatively you could just place the unturned bowl on top and pipe around it! Nice and easy.
Ideally in a freestanding or hand held mixer, whisk the egg whites on a medium speed until they begin to form soft peaks. Don’t be tempted to turn it up to high speed or the egg whites could collapse.
Once the egg whites are holding a soft peak, begin to add the caster sugar on a low-medium speed.Gradually add a spoonful at a time and wait a good few seconds between each spoonful. You need to be patient when making meringue – Slow and steady wins the race here!
If you add the sugar too quickly, it won’t incorporate into the meringue properly and it will leak in the oven.
To check if the sugar has dissolved properly, take a small amount of the mixture and rub it between your fingers. If it feels grainy, you need to keep whisking. This stage can take around 8-10 minutes.
Once you’ve added all of the sugar, turn the mixer up to high and beat until you have a stiff, glossy meringue that holds its shape well.
Whisk the cornflour and white wine vinegar together in a small dish, then using a large metal spoon, very gently fold into the meringue.
shaping the pavlova
Spoon the meringue into a large piping bag fitted with a large open star nozzle. Using the circle you drew on the baking parchment as a guide (or the upturned bowl) pipe rosettes in a circle. I find it easiest to start at 12 o’ clock, then 3, 6 and 9. Then I just fill in the gaps. If some of your rosettes are a little smaller than others, please don’t stress. It really doesn’t matter too much.
If you would rather not pipe the meringue you can use a large spoon instead – dollop rounds of the meringue onto the baking sheet, creating a circle shape.
Using the back of a spoon, create small dips in the centre of the meringue. This indent will hold the cream later.
time to bake
Place the meringue in the oven, immediately turn down the heat to 120C and bake for 1-11/2 hours, then turn the heat off and leave the pavlova in the oven for several hours or ideally overnight.
In the morning, carefully remove the pavlova. At this stage, it can be stored in a large airtight container for 3-4 days. Take care though as it is very delicate. If it cracks don’t panic, the cream and fruit will cover it!
THE WHIPPED CREAM FILLING
I filled the pavlova with a clementine curd whipped cream from M&S. The orange flavour makes it extra festive and adds a lovely citrusy tang. To make this you pour the double cream into a large bowl, add the icing sugar and vanilla and whisk to soft peaks. This takes around 5 minutes.
Place the curd in a bowl and lightly beat it with a wooden spoon. This loosens the curd and makes it easier to fold into the cream. Gently fold the curd into the cream until it’s just incorporated. Don’t fold too much or the cream will start to stiffen up. A few ripples of curd here and there aren’t a bad thing.
Of course, you can just use sweetened whipped cream if you like – I’ve given a recipe for this in the recipe card below.
THE FRUIT
I can’t think of a fruit that wouldn’t work with this pavlova. I used blueberries, raspberries and pomegranate seeds as that’s what I had in my fridge, but feel free to use whatever you like.
I macerate the berries in a mixture of orange juice, vanilla extract and icing sugar. If the fruit is slightly tart this sweetens it slightly, but you can skip this step if you like.
Sliced oranges, figs, blackberries, red currants or passion fruit pulp would look lovely. A little green in the form of sliced kiwi fruit or fresh mint leaves would look suitably festive.
THE RASPBERRY COULIS
Drizzling a raspberry coulis over the pavlova finishes it off beautifully and adds a fresh burst of flavour.
You can use a shop bought coulis or make your own. I blended 300g of fresh (frozen is fine) raspberries in a blender with 25g icing sugar and a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice. You can make this in advance and keep it in the fridge.
to assemble the pavlova
Fill the indents of the meringue with the whipped cream. I don’t use a piping bag for this – a large spoon is just fine.
Here comes the fun part! Pile the pavlova high with your fruit, sprinkle over some festive sprinkles (I used these edible gold stars) and drizzle with a little raspberry coulis. Serve the remaing coulis with the dessert.
more stunning festive desserts to try
did you make this recipe?
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Christmas Wreath Pavlova
This Christmas Wreath Pavlova is a true showstopping festive dessert that's sure to impress your guests, The meringue can be made a few days in advance if you want to get ahead of time.
Ingredients
- FOR THE MERINGUE
- 6 large egg whites, at room temperature
- 300g caster sugar
- 2 teaspoons cornflour
- 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla exrract
- FOR THE WHIPPED CREAM FILLING
- 400ml double cream
- 1 tablespoon icing sugar
- 100g clementine/orange curd
- OR FOR SWEETENED WHIPPED CREAM
- 2 tablespoons icing sugar
- 1 teaspoon best quality vanilla extract
- FOR THE BERRIES
- Approximately 400g fresh Berries - I used blueberries and raspberries, strawberries and blackberries would also be good
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons icing sugar
- 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
- TO DECORATE
- Pomegranate seeds and edible gold stars, or decorate however you like!
- Raspberry coulis, to drizzle over the pavlova. If you can't find shop bought, I've given a recipe in the recipe notes below.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 140C/120Fan/280F. Line a very large baking tray with baking parchment. *When I made the pavlova wreath for the first time I realised i didn’t own a big enough tray, so I used my large oven tray! I turned it upside down and lined with baking parchment*.
- Take a large bowl and using a pencil, draw a circle on the baking parchment. This will give you a guide for the wreath shape. Turn the paper the other way around to prevent your pavlova from having a pencil mark on the bottom (yes this happened to me once!) Alternatively you could just place the unturned bowl on top and pipe around it! Nice and easy.
- Ideally in a freestanding or hand held mixer, whisk the egg whites on a medium speed until they begin to form soft peaks. Don’t be tempted to turn it up to high speed or the egg whites could collapse. Once the egg whites are holding a soft peak, begin to add the caster sugar on a low-medium speed.Gradually add a spoonful at a time and wait a good few seconds between each spoonful. If you add the sugar too quickly, it won’t incorporate into the meringue properly and it will leak in the oven.
- To check if the sugar has dissolved properly, take a small amount of the mixture and rub it between your fingers. If it feels grainy, you need to keep whisking. This stage can take around 8-10 minutes. Once you’ve added all of the sugar, turn the mixer up to high and beat until you have a stiff, glossy meringue that holds its shape well.
- Whisk the cornflour and white wine vinegar together in a small dish, then using a large metal spoon, very gently fold into the meringue.
- Spoon the meringue into a large piping bag fitted with a large open star nozzle. Using the circle you drew on the baking parchment as a guide (or the upturned bowl) pipe rosettes in a circle. I find it easiest to start at 12 o’ clock, then 3, 6 and 9. Then I just fill in the gaps. If some of your rosettes are a little smaller than others, please don’t stress. It really doesn’t matter too much.
- If you would rather not pipe the meringue you can use a large spoon instead - dollop rounds of the meringue onto the baking sheet, creating a circle shape. Using the back of a spoon, create small dips in the centre of the meringue. This indent will hold the cream later.
- Place the meringue in the oven, immediately turn down the heat to 120C and bake for 1-11/2 hours, then turn the heat off and leave the pavlova in the oven for several hours or ideally overnight.
- In the morning, carefully remove the pavlova - it will be very delicate. At this stage, it can be stored in a large airtight container for 3-4 days
- To make the whipped cream, place the curd in a bowl and lightly beat it with a wooden spoon. This loosens the curd and makes it easier to fold into the cream. Gently fold the curd into the cream until it’s JUST incorporated. Don’t fold too much or the cream will start to stiffen up. A few ripples of curd here and there aren’t a bad thing.
- If you're NOT using the orange curd, simply whip the double cream with the vanilla extract and icing sugar until the cream holds soft peaks. Don't overwhip - it should be nice and soft.
- To make a macerated berries, place them in a bowl and sprinkle over the icing sugar, vanilla extract and orange juice. Using a spoon, very lightly stir until the berries are coated in juice. Leave for 30 minutes or so until the berries are glossy.
- To assemble the pavlova, fill the indents with whipped cream, top with the macerated berries and decorate with pomegranate seeds, raspberry coulis (just a small amount - reserve a good amount for serving) and edible gold stars/other suitable festive sprinkles.
- Now proudly bring to the table and stun your guests!
Notes
You can use a shop bought coulis or make your own. Blend 300g of fresh or frozen raspberries in a blender with 25g icing sugar and a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice. Taste to see if the coulis is sweet enough - if not you can add a little more icing sugar. You can make this in advance and keep it in the fridge.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 381Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 52mgSodium: 57mgCarbohydrates: 55gFiber: 4gSugar: 50gProtein: 5g
Calories and nutritional information are provided by a third party application and should be viewed as indicative figures only.