Mandarin And Gingerbread Pavlova

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 mandarins, 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 holiday. 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 easy mandarin and gingerbread Pavlova recipe to celebrate the New Year holiday. Make it for Christmas, too, or follow it up with this stunning and unforgettable dessert. 

Why mandarin and gingerbread Pavlova recipe works

• Pavlova can be made all year round, and this cake is a traditional Australian Christmas dessert.
• This spicy Pavlova is a great alternative to traditional 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.

How to make mandarin and gingerbread Pavlova step by step

Preheat oven to 230 F/110 C. Line a baking sheet with the parchment paper * and draw a circle 8 inches/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 the 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 carefully drizzle the caramel to form tree shapes on the 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 1/3 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

1. Process granulated sugar in a food processor * for a few seconds to obtain superfine sugar. It facilitates to dissolve easier while making the meringue. 
2. Bake the meringue dome a day in advance of serving, leave it in the closed oven, and decorate it the next day.
3. Make gingerbread snowflake cookies and caramel tree decorations one to two days in advance.
4. 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.
5. Make sure your mixing bowl and whisk are clean and free of grease.
6. Use separated egg whites at room temperature, helping them reach their maximum volume.
7. Experiment with spices in the meringue recipe, possibly increasing each of them up to one teaspoon.
8. Supreme oranges and replace mandarin pieces with the wedges of supremed oranges.
9. To make gingerbread snowflake cookies, use this recipe of the Gingerbread Christmas Cookie Ornaments and snowflake cookie cutters.
10. Decorate the cake with store-bought gingerbread cookies. Crumble cookies if you prefer.

More Christmas dessert recipes You will love

• Spiced French Gingerbread Loaf Recipe
• Healthy Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies
• Nutella Cake Roll (aka Nutella Swiss Roll)
• Browse all the Christmas Recipes

If you try this recipe, please, rate it and leave a comment below, I love hearing from you! You can also follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook to see what I am getting up to. Visit my Yummly page and save recipes to your Yummly recipe box. Also, subscribe to my newsletter for recipe updates!

If you love to bake, you will find this Cake Pan Converter useful. Press here to save it and enjoy the best baking tool ever!

Mandarin And Gingerbread Pavlova

★★★★★ 5 from 13 reviews

• Author: Irina
• Total Time: 3 hours, 30 minutes (plus resting time)
• Yield: 8 1x
• Category: Cakes
• Method: Baking
• Cuisine: Australian

Print

Pin

---

Description

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.

---

Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

For the meringue:

• 6 egg whites
• 1 1/2 cups (330 g) caster sugar
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons corn starch
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground clove
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

For the whipped cream:

• 10.1 fl oz (300 ml) whipping cream
• 1.8 oz (50 g) mascarpone
• 1 tbsp (15 g) granulated sugar

For caramel tree decorations:

• 1/3 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
• 1/2 cup (125 ml) orange juice
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup

---

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 230 F/110 C. Line a baking sheet with the parchment paper * and draw a circle 8 inches/20 cm in diameter with a pencil. Turn the parchment over so that the pencil line is facing down.
2. 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. 
3. 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.
4. To make caramel tree decorations, prepare the 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.
5. To make the topping, peel mandarins, divide into segments, cut each segment in half, and discard pips.
6. 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 1/3 cup. Remove and discard zest strips and cinnamon. Set aside to cool.
7. To make the whipped cream, beat whipping cream with an electric mixer. While whisking, add mascarpone and sugar. 
8. 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

1. Process granulated sugar in a food processor * for a few seconds to obtain superfine sugar. It facilitates to dissolve easier while making the meringue.  
2. Bake the meringue dome a day in advance of serving, leave it in the closed oven, and decorate it the next day.
3. Make gingerbread snowflake cookies and caramel tree decorations one to two days in advance.
4. 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.
5. Make sure a mixing bowl and whisk are clean and free of grease.
6. Use separated egg whites at room temperature that helps reach their maximum volume. 
7. Experiment with spices in the meringue recipe increasing each of them till one teaspoon.
8. Supreme oranges and replace mandarin pieces with the wedges of supremed oranges.
9. To make gingerbread snowflake cookies, use this recipe of the Gingerbread Christmas Cookie Ornaments and snowflake cookie cutters *.
10. Decorate the cake with store-bought gingerbread cookies. Crumble cookies if you prefer.

---

Nutrition

• 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

The recipe was originally published on January 01, 2020. It has been revised to include improved content and photos. All posted pictures are mine.