The other night I made Coq au Vin and to finish the meal I decided to try my hand at pavlova. My husband has made it a few times over the years and it is a really delicious dessert. It is a simple recipe that just takes a bit of time. I also had pinned this pavlova from Bangers & Mash awhile ago so I thought I would try out my new spice grinder and take her inspiration of cardamom and add it to my recipe which is from Joy of Baking. 🙂
To start I prepped the baking sheet by placing parchment paper on it and drawing a circle around the plate. This is your guide when spreading the mixture out. Then turn the parchment paper over so the food doesn’t touch the ink or pencil. Pre-heat the oven to 250F/130C
I guestimated what a teaspoon of ground cardamom would be as I was starting with whole pods. I ground them up very fine for this dish.
The recipe called for 4 egg whites so the dogs were really happy to get the yolks! 🙂
With the mixer I whipped the whites until they formed soft peaks.
Then I gradually add a tablespoon at a time of castor sugar until 1 cup has been incorporated. You want to do your best to get the sugar fully dissolved. Mine was almost there but the dish came out really well so it was ok for me. Once the sugar was incorporated I added 1/2 tsp of vanilla and the cardamom.
Then I had to gently fold in 1/2 tablespoon of corn starch (corn flour) and a teaspoon of white vinegar. Hopefully when you do this your dog doesn’t decide to go berserk and start barking as you are trying to sprinkle the vinegar over the mixture. Instead my vinegar went flying. So after cleaning that up I tried again! Geez.
Spread out the meringue onto the parchment paper so the thickness is somewhat uniform.
This needs to be baked about 60-75 minutes. The outside needs to be dry and set. Once it is baked turn off the oven leaving the meringue in the oven with the door ajar. Let it cool completely before moving it. 
For the first layer I used Bird’s custard again. 🙂 I could just eat a whole bowl of that!
Then a layer of freshly whipped cream is spread over the custard then topped with fresh berries.
It is such a decadent dessert and disappears fast.
Look so fluffy and delicious. I would love to try this. Love the berries too.
It’s a great summer dessert. 🙂
I’ve never tasted a Pavlova, having led such a sheltered life. You really could not have made yours look more appealing. You said it best, “Decadent”.
It’s great when you want to impress but don’t want something overly complicated. 🙂
I never think to use cardamom outside of Chai. You always impress me with your creations. 🙂
Thanks so much!
I’ve taught different little girls how to make this in cooking classes and they’re always so proud! It’s so impressive and easy! (Although we just did cream and berries!) yours is beautiful!
Thank you. 🙂
Sounds great, now I just have to find cardamom!
Easy to find! Most stores have it. 🙂
I’ve never heard of this desert. It looks Yummy and easy:)
I hope you try it. 🙂
Thanks so much for the mention Virginia. Your pavlova looks incredible. Rather like the idea of having a layer of custard too – as you say, very decadent!
You are very welcome!
Wow, your pavlova looks wonderful and perfect with summer berries!
Thank you so much. 🙂 It’s a real treat to eat.
What a lovely summer dessert.
Thank you.
This is a lovely pavlova and I love the addition of cardamom. So glad to have found your blog – I’m looking forward to enjoying more of your posts!
Virginia, pav is very special in New Zealand and your addition of cardamom is just fab! Thanks for bringing it on over. Cheers
Thanks! 🙂