Spiced Plum Pavlova With Poached Plums

Published: Aug 7, 2021 · Modified: Aug 12, 2022 by Irina Totterman · This post may contain affiliate links, read the disclaimer for details · 48 Comments

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Spiced plum Pavlova is the perfect Pavlova dessert topped with sweet-yet-boozy poached plums and sprinkled with chocolate shavings. No wonder it is the ultimate crowd-pleaser. So just give everyone a spoon and let them dig in.

Plum Pavlova topped with spiced plums chocolate shavings.

When you think of Pavlova, there is a beautiful taste that comes to mind. It is light and airy, and it is so much lighter than some other desserts today.

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Delicious plum Pavlova recipe
Ingredients
How to make plum Pavlova
Expert Tips
Recipe variations
Storing and freezing
Recipe FAQ
Love meringue desserts? Try these next!
Recipe card
Comments

If you have ever tried shaping the Pavlova, it is like meditating. It takes all of your own imagination and creativity; this dessert never fails to make.

The white color makes for such a minimalist look with all these different flavors mixed together on one plate - it tastes as good as it looks too.

Thanks to the world-famous Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, who inspired a chef from either Australia or New Zealand to create a national dessert in 1926.

A slice of plum pavlova on a white dessert plate.

Delicious plum Pavlova recipe

This is a foolproof Pavlova recipe that has been tested and retested many times. It gives a simple egg white meringue, the perfect Pavlova shell, which can be filled with toppings with and without fruit.

It is a boozy dessert served with the perfect complement of red wine sauce and spiced plums.

It makes a delicious year-round dessert by substituting fresh plums with frozen ones.

Ingredients

For ingredients and detailed instructions, refer to the recipe card below.

Egg whites: The recipe calls for large eggs. Separate egg whites from egg yolks while the eggs are chilled. Then, let egg whites come to room temperature.

Sugar: Use superfine caster or baker's sugar or process granulated sugar in a food processor for a few seconds to make it superfine. It helps to whisk the meringue.

White wine vinegar is added to help stabilize the whisked egg whites while making the meringue. You can replace it with the same quantity of lemon juice if desired.

Corn starch is a necessary ingredient to create a soft marshmallow center, which is a signature of Pavlova dessert.

Red wine: Use your favorite red vine to make a red wine sauce.

Spices: Use a cinnamon stick, ground star anise and cinnamon, and a few cardamom pods to poach plums.

Plums: The recipe calls for ripe plums. The fresh fruits have to be ripe but not soft. Replace fresh plums with frozen ones or other fruit, for example, cherries.

Heavy cream: Opt for heavy or heavy whipping cream with at least 30% fat content. Whisk the cold cream in a chilled metal bowl for the best result. Keep the container in the freezer for 10-15 minutes before you start making the cream.

Dark chocolate: Choose a top-quality 70% dark cocoa chocolate such as Valrhona dark chocolate.

Plum Pavlova on a serving platter with a slice on a dessert plate.

How to make plum Pavlova

Step 1. Preheat the oven to 230°F (110°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and draw a circle 8 inches (20 cm) in diameter. Turn the baking paper over so that the pencil line is facing down.

Step 2. To make the meringue, use an electric mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat egg whites and salt at high speed until soft peaks form.

Step 3. Reduce the speed and add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time. Beat egg whites until the sugar dissolves and stiff peaks form (photo 1).

Step 4. Add cornflour and white wine vinegar, and whisk until just combined, about 30 seconds.

Pro tip: Rub the ready meringue between your fingers to ensure that sugar has been incorporated and dissolved.

Step 5. Use a large metal spoon to scoop the meringue mixture onto the lined baking tray into the drown circle (photo 2).

Meringue in a bowl with a stiff peak on a whisk.

PHOTO 1

Scooped meringue mixture on parchment paper.

PHOTO 2

Step 6. Spread out the meringue with a rubber or bent spatula to shape a meringue dome (photo 3).

Step 7. Bring the meringue to the center of the oven and bake at 230°F (110°C) for 20 minutes. Then reduce the oven temperature to 210°F (100°C) and bake for a further 1 hour 15 minutes (photo 4).

Step 8. Turn off the oven and leave the meringue in the oven, with the door closed, for 3 to 4 hours until cooled completely.

PHOTO 3

PHOTO 4

Step 9. To make the red wine sauce, place granulated sugar in a small saucepan and heat until sugar starts to caramelize (do not use a spoon; just swirl the pan over the stove).

Step 10. Take the saucepan out of the heat, and carefully add warm red wine (warm it up in the microwave for 10 seconds). Please be careful since the mixture might splash.

Step 11. Bring the pan to medium heat again and let the caramel dissolve in the wine.

Step 12. Add spices with plum quarters and poach plums, cooking for 5 minutes (photo 5). Drain plum slices and spices with a colander or use a slotted spoon, but keep the sauce.

Step 13. Bring the red wine sauce over low heat. Let it simmer and cook for 10 minutes until thickened. Remove from heat, and set aside to cool.

Step 14. To make whipped cream, place cold heavy cream with ground cinnamon (if used) in a chilled bowl of a stand mixer and whip to medium-stiff peaks.

Pro tip: Consult the sugar-free whipped cream recipe for step-by-step photographed explanations, helpful tips, and tricks.

Step 15. To assemble plum Pavlova, peel off the paper and place the meringue base on a serving platter or a cake stand. Top with whipped cream and poached plums. Drizzle with the plum syrup and sprinkle with dark chocolate shavings (photo 6).

PHOTO 5

Plum Pavlova with red whine sauce poured from a glass sauce pourer.

PHOTO 6

Serve the Pavlova immediately.

Poached plum Pavlova on a serving plate.

Expert Tips

Make sure that a large bowl is clean and dry before whisking egg whites. Any residual moisture or traces of grease on a mixing bowl prevents egg whites from whisking.
Process granulated sugar in a food processor for a few seconds to obtain superfine sugar. It helps dissolve the sugar more easily while making the meringue.
Add sugar one spoon at a time. Whisk for about 10 seconds before adding the next spoon.
Do not open the oven door during baking since any moisture in the air can soften the meringue shell.
Turn off the oven (do not open the door) and let the meringue cool completely for three to four hours; better overnight.
To make large chocolate shavings, scrape chocolate with a knife or simply grate a chocolate bar.

Recipe variations

A Pavlova's strength lies in the fact that it can be made with so many flavors. A quick Google search finds lots of suggestions for things to serve on top.

Fruit flavor combinations are limited by your imagination, but try different pairings before deciding what you like best.

Fruits: Pavlova tastes great with lemon curd and boozy cherries or fresh berries, red fruits and raspberry sauce, raspberries, peaches, passion fruit pulp, or a mix of tropical fruits.

Flavorings: Try to mix fruit with various spices, for example, banana with pumpkin spice or ground star anise.

Fruit alternatives: An alternative to fruit would be crushed chocolate cookies or graham crackers. Also, try to mix all different types of desserts in one dish, like a strawberry mousse, tiny cubes of candied citrus peel, and white chocolate chips. Finally, top your Pavlova dessert with dark chocolate cream and chocolate curls on top.

Storing and freezing

Pavlova is best enjoyed right after it is assembled. Store leftovers of the dessert in the refrigerator and consume within 24 hours.

Can you freeze Pavlova? You can not freeze the assembled Pavlova, but you can freeze the meringue shell.

First, place the cooled Pavlova meringue on a tray lined with parchment and freeze for 3 hours or longer. Then place it in a freezer-safe bag, press out as much air as possible, seal and label the bag, and freeze for up to 3 months.

To thaw, bring the Pavlova shell to a counter 2 to 3 hours before serving. Cover the meringue shell with a paper towel while defrosting. Then top it with whipped cream and fruit.

Recipe FAQ

Can you make the Pavlova shell in advance?

You can make the Pavlova meringue in the evening and leave it in the oven overnight. The next morning, the crisp outer shell with the marshmallow-centered middle of the meringue will be ready to assemble.

Can you replace plums with the fruit of your choice?

This Pavlova recipe is created for autumnal fruits - plums. But it perfectly works for cherries, too.

Can you use double cream instead of whipping cream?

You can replace heavy whipping cream with double cream that has an even higher fat content. It is actually more stable once whipped than using whipping cream.

Love meringue desserts? Try these next!

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Recipe card

The nutritional information has been calculated using an online recipe nutrition calculator such as Verywellfit.com and is intended for informational purposes only. These figures should be used as a general guideline and not be construed as a guarantee.

The recipe was originally published on September 16, 2019. It has been revised to include improved content and photos and may differ from what was originally published.

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About Irina Totterman

I'm Irina, an experienced home baker with over 30 years of expertise and the blogger behind Baking Like a Chef (since 2018), where I share baking recipes, tips, and tricks. My recipes have been featured in the renowned French Chef Simon and Le Journal des Femmes.