Easy Mary Berry pavlova recipe | Cooking with my kids. (2024)

Summer berry pavlova is the perfect showstopper dessert. In fact, this Mary Berry pavlova recipe is so easy to make, even kids can do it!

This berry pavlova is the perfect showstopper dessert. It’s a simple make ahead dessert that is so easy even kids can help make it.

One of my favourite desserts is a crisp meringue topped with cream and delicious summer fruit. It’s a great dessert for summer BBQs and get togethers, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it all year round. It’s also the perfect Christmas dessert, and is ideal for getting kids busy in the kitchen helping as it’s so easy.

At other times of the year, you might want to swap the fruit with something more seasonal like citrus fruits in the winter or autumnal blackberries and apple, it really is a great dessert to make at any time of the year. And makes a wonderful dessert to share with friends and family for the holiday season.

We’ve made a few meringues before, but this meringue recipe from Mary Berry is my favourite. It turned out to have the perfect mixture of soft gooey marshmallow on the inside with a delicious crunch on the outside – everything a good pavlova should be (in my opinion).

How can kids help make this Mary Berry pavlova?

Meringues are easier than you think for kids to make. There are only a few ingredients and a few simple steps so it’s a great dessert for children to help make. Once you’ve separated the eggs, kids will enjoy whipping the eggs until they become light and fluffy. Mine were also very good at slowly adding the sugar, teaspoon at a time.

If you’re decorating the pavlova with soft summer fruits, children (even young children and toddlers) can practice their knife skills and chop some strawberries etc ready to decorate.

How long does a pavlova keep?

The unfilled meringue base can keep in an airtight container for up to a month so it’s a great dessert for preparing ahead of time.

Once you’ve made the pavlova and added the cream and fruit it will only keep for a day or two. Make sure you keep it covered and refrigerated.

Why has my pavlova cracked in the oven?

A little bit of cracking is normal in a meringue and is nothing to worry about. If it’s more than just a little bit of cracking that may be because you’ve cooked it at too high a temperature or let it cool down too fast.

It’s important to bake a pavlova slowly on a low heat and let it cool down really slowly as well. Leave the meringue in the oven to cool, without opening the door to make it crispy on the outside but soft and almost marshmallowy on the inside. Some people open their oven a crack as it cools to make the meringue a little crispier all the way through.

I normally the pavloa for as long as possible, but at least a few hours. If you’re not using your oven again that day, make it and leave it overnight to cool.

Why do you add cornflour and vinegar to the meringue?

The cornflour and vinegar is added to make the egg whites more stable and helps the meringue achieve that deliciously crisp outside, and soft inside.

We used white wine vinegar as it is easy to get hold of and has less of a taste than some other vinegars.

Other delicious desserts

If you liked this pavlova you’ll love some of our other easy desserts:

No bake orange cheesecake
No bake berry cheesecake
Chocolate roulade
Chocolate pavlova
Meringue nests
Peach trifle

Useful equipment

You might need the following baking tools/gadgets to make this Mary Berry pavlova recipe.

Digital scales
Freestanding mixer
Hand held whisk
Mixing bowl
Measuring cups
Measuring spoons
Wire rack

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Difficulty: Easy

Time: 25 minutes plus 2 hours baking

Serves: 8

Ingredients

4 large egg whites
225g (1 cup) caster sugar
2 tsp cornflour
2 tsp white wine vinegar
For the topping
300ml (1 1/4 cups) double, heavy or whipping cream
Fresh summer berries (about 250g + or 2 cups) strawberries, raspberries, blueberries etc.

how to make Mary berry’s pavlova

Preheat the oven to 160C / 140C Fan / gas 3 and prepare a baking tray. Line the baking tray with baking paper and mark a 23cm (approx) circle on it.

Whip the egg whites

Separate the egg whites from the yolks. I do this bit myself as it’s important you don’t get any yolks in, but if you have older children they might like to help. I find the easiest way of doing this is to crack the egg and split it in half then tip the egg yolk between each half of the egg shell letting the egg whites fall into a bowl below. Keep doing this until you’ve separated the whites and yolk completely.

Get your kids to pour the egg whites into your mixing bowl or freestanding mixer. Whisk them until they are stiff and cloud like (hard peaks). It’ll take a few minutes.

Add the sugar

Get your kids to measure the sugar out into a small bowl. Keep the mixer running and add the sugar to the eggs one teaspoonful at time until it is all added. If your children have a steady hand, this is a great job to keep them occupied for a while. Just make sure they don’t add it too quickly – you need to wait until the first teaspoon of sugar looks like it has disolved in fully before adding the next teaspoon.

Add the cornflour and vinegar

Measure the cornflour and white wine vinegar out into a small dish and give them a good mix. Pour it slowly into the meringue mixture and whip it until it’s fully incorporated.

Bake the mary berry Pavlova

Add a little dab of meringue with your finger underneath the baking paper to stick it to your baking sheet (that will stop it sliding around later).

Pour or spoon the meringue out on to your baking tray and get your little one to spread it out in a large circle. Build up the sides a bit so they are higher than the middle (to keep your fruit in place later).

Pop the meringue in your preheated oven and bake it for about an hour until it turns a pale beige colour. Turn the oven off and let the pavlova become cold in the oven, (we left it overnight, but you need to leave it for at least an hour). If you keep the oven door closed you’ll get a more chewy centered marshmallowy meringue.

Add the cream and fruit

Whip the cream until it’s reached soft peaks. Soft peaks is when the cream will hold up for a few seconds when you take the whisk out before flopping back down into the mixture. Keep an eye on it and stop just before you think you need to as it’s really easy to over whisk it. If you do over whisk it (like we did) just add a little more cream or milk and mix it in.

Get your kids to help prepare the fruit if necessary – we chopped our strawberries in half.

Remove the cold pavlova from your baking tray, peel the baking paper off the base and slide it on to a serving plate. Spoon the whipped cream on top and spread it out over the meringue.

Get your kids to add the fruit on top of the cream.

Chill your berry pavlova for an hour before serving. Serve and enjoy!

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Similar recipes

If you liked this Mary Berry pavlova, you’ll love our chocolate pavlova and our other easy dessert recipes.

This recipe was first published in July 2017 and republished with new images in November 2023.