Looking for something different than a traditional gingerbread during the holiday season? This easy Mandarin and Gingerbread Pavlova would be just the one! Spiced meringue is topped with citrus, gingerbread snowflake cookies, and caramel trees.
How does your house smell during the holiday season? Scents of the Gingerbread and a Christmas tree are the best indications of the festive season each year.
I have an additional aroma that is associated with Christmas and New Year holidays. It is the citrus, but to be precise, it is mandarins.
It goes back to my childhood when Moroccan mandarins annually went on sale in Russia during the holiday season. They always were a festive sign for me that the holidays were coming.
Mandarins have a special treatment in Chinese culture. The Chinese word for mandarin—Kam—sounds similar to the word for “gold.”
It means having mandarins in your home at New Year is considered to bring riches into your life.
That is why I teamed up with gingerbread and mandarins to create this winter-themed citrus Pavlova recipe to celebrate the New Year holiday.
Make it for Christmas, too, or follow it up with this stunning and unforgettable dessert.
Why this citrus Pavlova recipe works
- Pavlova can be made all year round, and this cake is a traditional Australian Christmas dessert.
- This winter Pavlova is a great alternative to holiday gingerbread desserts.
- Warm spices bring an unbeatable flavor and festive spirit.
- Fresh citrus topping beautifully marries with spicy ginger and other fragrant spices.
- Making the meringue, gingerbread cookies, and caramel tree decorations one day in advance is a time saver during busy holiday time.
Ingredients
Here is a quick overview of what ingredients you will need. Follow the full recipe below for detailed amounts and instructions. I recommend making this recipe as written for the best results.
Egg whites: use separated egg whites at room temperature, helping them reach their maximum volume. To facilitate separating egg whites from the yolks, use chilled eggs and an egg separator.
Granulated sugar: process granulated sugar in a food processor for a few seconds to obtain superfine sugar or use caster sugar. It facilitates to dissolve easier while making the meringue.
White wine vinegar: it stabilizes the whisked egg whites while making the meringue. Replace it with the same amount of lemon juice or cream of tartar.
Corn starch: it is an essential ingredient to create a soft marshmallow center of the Pavlova. Replace it with potato starch if you prefer.
Spices: use ground spices such as cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and ginger. Experiment with spices in the meringue recipe, possibly increasing each of them up to one teaspoon.
Whipping cream: use your favorite brand of whipping cream with
Mascarpone: it is added to stabilize the whipped cream.
Mandarins: use organic, untreated mandarins.
Gingerbread snowflake cookies: follow the recipe for Gingerbread Cookies or use store-bought gingerbread cookies for Pavlova decoration.
Citrus juice: use a citrus squeezer to make lemon and orange juice.
Light corn syrup: replace it with golden syrup if you desire.
How to make mandarin and gingerbread Pavlova
Preheat oven to 230 F/110 C. Line a baking sheet with the parchment paper and draw a circle 8-inch/20 cm in diameter with a pencil. Turn the parchment over so that the pencil line is facing down.
To make the meringue, with an electric mixer or a stand mixer, whisk egg whites and salt together until soft peaks form.
Whisk in the sugar a spoonful at a time until the meringue is stiff and glossy. Add white wine vinegar and corn starch and beat a few more seconds (photo 1).
Use a large metal spoon to mound the meringue on a baking sheet. With a flour sifter, sprinkle spices over the meringue (photo 2)...
and create a meringue dome, using a bent spatula. (photo 3).
Bake at 230 F/110 C for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 210 F/100 C. Bake for an additional 1 hour 15 minutes.
Turn off the oven and leave the meringue in the oven, with the door closed, for 3 to 4 hours (better overnight) until cooled completely (photo 4).
To make caramel tree decorations, prepare parchment paper. Bring sugar and water in a saucepan over low to medium heat and cook, without stirring, for 12 to 13 minutes or until golden color.
Set aside for 2 minutes or until the caramel begins to thicken slightly (photo 5). Use a spoon to drizzle the caramel to form tree shapes on parchment. Set aside to cool and set (photo 6).
To make the topping, peel mandarins, divide into segments, cut each segment in half, and discard pips (photo 7).
To make the sticky sauce, peel 3 strips of zest from a mandarin. In a saucepan, combine zest strips, cinnamon stick, juices, and syrup and bring to a boil for about 6 minutes or until the syrup reduced to ⅓ cup (about 80 ml).
Remove and discard zest strips and cinnamon. Set aside to cool (photo 8).
To make the whipped cream, beat whipping cream with an electric mixer. While whisking, add mascarpone and sugar (photo 9).
To assemble the cake, place the meringue on a serving platter or a cake stand. Generously garnish it with the whipped cream, top with mandarins, gingerbread snowflake cookies, and caramel tree/s (photo 10).
Expert tips
- Bake the meringue dome a day in advance of serving, leave it in the closed oven, and decorate it the next day.
- Make gingerbread snowflake cookies and caramel tree decorations one to two days in advance.
- Top the meringue with the whipped cream and mandarins shortly before serving; otherwise, the meringue will soften and break down due to the whipped cream and syrupy fruit's moisture.
- Supreme oranges and replace mandarin pieces with the wedges of supremed oranges.
- To make gingerbread snowflake cookies, use the recipe for Gingerbread Christmas Cookie Ornaments and snowflake cookie cutters.
- Decorate the cake with store-bought gingerbread cookies. Crumble cookies if you prefer.
Love holiday desserts? Try these next!
- French Gingerbread Loaf Recipe
- Healthy Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
- Gingerbread Christmas Ornaments
- Bredele – Alsatian Christmas Cookies
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Try this simple Cake Pan Converter if you ever need to adjust your baking pan and re-calculate the amounts of ingredients to make your favorite dessert.
Recipe card
Mandarin and Gingerbread Pavlova
Looking for something different than a traditional gingerbread during the holiday season? This Mandarin and Gingerbread Pavlova would be just the one! Spiced meringue is topped with mandarins, gingerbread snowflake cookies and caramel trees.
- Total Time: 3 hours, 30 minutes (plus resting time)
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: Cakes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Australian
Ingredients
For the meringue:
- 6 egg whites
- 1 ½ cups (330 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons corn starch
- 1 pinch of salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground clove
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
For the whipped cream:
- 10.1 fl oz (300 ml) whipping cream
- 1.8 oz (50 g) mascarpone
- 1 tablespoon (15 g) granulated sugar
For caramel tree decorations:
- ⅓ cup (75 g) granulated sugar
- 1 fl oz (30 ml) water
For the topping:
- 3 mandarins
- gingerbread snowflake cookies (optional)
For the sticky sauce:
- 3 mandarin zest strips
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
*Don't you have the correct baking pan on hand right now? Try this simple Cake Pan Converter!
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 230 F/110 C. Line a baking sheet with the parchment paper and draw a circle 8-inch/20 cm in diameter with a pencil. Turn the parchment over so that the pencil line is facing down.
- To make the meringue, with an electric mixer or a stand mixer, whisk egg whites and salt together until soft peaks form. Whisk in the sugar a spoonful at a time until the meringue is stiff and glossy. Add white wine vinegar and corn starch, and beat a few more seconds.
- Use a large metal spoon to mound the meringue on a baking sheet. With a flour sifter, sprinkle spices over the meringue and create a meringue dome, using a bent spatula. Bake at 230 F/110 C for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 210 F/100 C. Bake for an additional 1 hour 15 minutes. Turn off the oven and leave the meringue in the oven, with the door closed, for 3 to 4 hours (better overnight) until cooled completely.
- To make caramel tree decorations, prepare parchment paper. Bring sugar and water in a saucepan over low to medium heat and cook, without stirring, for 12 to 13 minutes or until golden color. Set aside for 2 minutes or until the caramel begins to thicken slightly. Use a spoon to carefully drizzle the caramel to form tree shapes on the parchment. Set aside to cool and set.
- To make the topping, peel mandarins, divide into segments, cut each segment in half, and discard pips.
- To make the sticky sauce, peel 3 strips of zest from a mandarin. In a saucepan, combine zest strips, cinnamon stick, juices and syrup and bring to a boil for a bout 6 minutes or until the syrup reduced to ⅓ cup. Remove and discard zest strips and cinnamon. Set aside to cool.
- To make the whipped cream, beat whipping cream with an electric mixer. While whisking, add mascarpone and sugar.
- To assemble the cake, place the meringue on a serving platter or a cake stand. Generously garnish it with the whipped cream, top with mandarins, gingerbread snowflake cookies, and caramel tree/s.
Notes
- Process granulated sugar in a food processor for a few seconds to obtain superfine sugar or use caster sugar. It facilitates to dissolve easier while making the meringue.
- Bake the meringue dome a day in advance of serving, leave it in the closed oven, and decorate it the next day.
- Make gingerbread snowflake cookies and caramel tree decorations one to two days in advance.
- Top the meringue with the whipped cream and mandarins shortly before serving; otherwise, the meringue will soften and break down due to the moisture of the whipped cream and syrupy fruit.
- Experiment with spices in the meringue recipe increasing each of them till one teaspoon.
- Supreme oranges and replace mandarin pieces with the wedges of supremed oranges.
- To make gingerbread snowflake cookies, use the recipe for Gingerbread Christmas Cookie Ornaments and snowflake cookie cutters.
- Decorate the cake with store-bought gingerbread cookies. Crumble cookies if you prefer.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 338
- Sugar: 49 g
- Sodium: 72 mg
- Fat: 12.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 8 g
- Carbohydrates: 55.1 g
- Fiber: 0.8 g
- Protein: 4.6 g
- Cholesterol: 45 mg
Keywords: easy Pavlova recipe, gingerbread Pavlova, citrus Pavlova, mandarin Pavlova, winter Pavlova
The nutritional information has been calculated using an online recipe nutrition calculator and is intended for informational purposes only and should be used as a general guideline. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should independently verify it using your preferred tool. Please, read the disclaimers in our Privacy Policy.
The recipe was originally published on January 01, 2020. It has been revised to include improved content and photos. All posted pictures are mine.
Dannii says
What a lovely light and fresh dessert. And perfect for Christmas too.
★★★★★
Irina says
Thank you, Dannii. Please, enjoy the recipe 🙂
Chris Collins says
I love gingerbread so much, especially around this time of year! What a gorgeous Pavlova 🙂
★★★★★
Irina says
Thank you, Chris. Yes, it is a great alternative to the traditional gingerbread. Please, enjoy the recipe. 🙂
Simi says
Awesome recipe. I love this gingerbread Pavlova. This is so easy, and I'm going to repeat this soon.
★★★★★
Irina says
Oh, great, Simi Please, let m know how it went. Happy baking!
Jen says
Thanks for the reminder to use a kitchen scale when making this. I want to get it as beautiful as yours. Love it!
★★★★★
Irina says
Thank you, Jen! I am sure you will make it perfect!
Julia says
I used to make mandarin Pavlova when I worked at a bakery ages ago, but adding gingerbread cookies is a great way to turn it into a Christmas dessert!
★★★★★
Irina says
Thank you, Julia. Yes, I love this Christmas version of Pavlova too. 🙂 Please, enjoy the recipe.
Cathleen says
You hit the nail on the head! My favorite scents are a Christmas tree, then a close second: gingerbread. This is so perfect. I have GOT to make this for the holidays 🙂
★★★★★
Irina says
Thank you, Cathleen. Happy baking and enjoy it!
Priya Lakshminarayan says
We made this today! It came out perfect!
★★★★★
Irina says
Oh, Priya, I am so happy to hear that! Thank you for letting me know.
Jane Saunders says
My children love meringue, so Pavlova is an obvious choice for festive parties. I love your gingerbread inspired to take on it - I can't wait to try this recipe out on Christmas Eve.
★★★★★
Irina says
I am glad you love this baking idea, Jane! Happy baking. 🙂
Charla says
Pavlovas look so wonderful, but I am always nervous about making a complete mess of them. Thank you for sharing your winter spin on an Aussie classical dessert.
★★★★★
Irina says
Charla, you will make it! Please, let me know if you have any questions! I am here to help 🙂
Jill says
So beautiful. I love the creative flavor combination for topping a pavlova for the holidays. Well done!
★★★★★
Irina says
Jill, thank you very much for your kind words. 🙂