Raspberry Pistachio Mini Pavlovas Recipe (video)

45 prep + 40 cook + 3 Cooling Time:

pavlovas

Learn how to make these pretty raspberry and pistachio mini pavlova with whipped cream. Perfect for Easter, spring and other occasions!

Wash your mixing bowl and whisk attachment with white vinegar and a degreasing soap to ensure no grease residue is leftover from a previous recipe. Dry the bowl with clean paper towels.
Preheat the oven to 200F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. If you have them, place silicon mats underneath the paper for better heat protection.

Place the eggs white, lemon juice, and vanilla extract into a stand mixer bowl with the whisk attachment. In a separate bowl, combine the sugar, cream of tartar, and cornstarch, mixing them together.
Turn the mixer on to a medium speed (I use the number 4 setting). Begin adding 1 tablespoon of sugar at a time, waiting about 5 to 7 seconds in between additions. Try to avoid the whisk attachment, adding the sugar off to the side. This process will take about 6 to 9 minutes.
Once all the sugar is added, continue to whisk the meringue on medium speed. This will allow the sugar to completely dissolve. Whisk for another 5 to 7 minutes, until the meringue is glossy and forms stiff peaks.
Check for sugar granules! Place a small amount of meringue between two fingers and rub together. The meringue should be smooth with no grit.

Next, it’s time to add the pistachios! You can add the pistachios to the entire bowl of meringue, or just to part of it, making a center filling.
Remove about 2 cups of the meringue into a separate bowl. Add the finely diced pistachios; I put mine through a food processor. Gently fold in the nuts, without overmixing the meringue.
Transfer the pistachio meringue into a pastry bag tipped with a simple round tip. I used Ateco tip number 806.

Pipe small dollops, about 1-inch across of the pistachio meringue onto your prepared baking sheets. Space these several inches apart.
Transfer the remaining plain meringue into a pastry bag tipped with a star tip; I used a French Star tip #8.
Pipe the meringue around the pistachio dollops, forming little nests. Watch my video tutorial to see how it’s done.
If you added the pistachios to the whole bowl of meringue, simply pipe meringue nests onto your baking sheet.
If you have some pistachio meringue leftover, make small pistachio meringue kisses. These are so delicious!
Sprinkle the mini pavlovas with additional finely diced pistachios over the top before baking.

Stagger the baking sheets in your oven so one pan isn’t completely covering the other. Move around theoven racks if necessary.
Bake the mini pavlovas at 200F for 40 minutes, then turn the oven off and do not open the oven door! Allow the meringue to cool slowly with the oven closed for 2 to 3 hours, or overnight.
Opening the oven door too early will cause the meringue to crack! It needs to cool very slowly.

Place the chilled heavy cream, vanilla, and powdered sugar into a large measuring cup or mixing bowl.
Whisk for 4 to 5 minutes, until stiff peaks form. Start out on a slow speed and gradually work your way up to ‘high’ speed.
Keep the whipped cream refrigerated until ready to use.

Make sure the pavlovas are completely cooled before adding the cream and preserves. I recommend waiting to assemble these until you’re ready to serve. Once assembled, you’ll want to enjoy the pavlovas within a few hours. You can prepare the pavlova up to 2 days ahead of time; keep at room temp.
If the centers of your mini pavlovas expanded and filled during baking, use a small round spoon or melon baller and gently compress the centers to create more space.
Drop a teaspoon or two of raspberry preserves into the center of each pavlova. Add a heaping spoonful of whipped cream on top, then garnish with diced pistachios and fresh raspberries.