Recipe: Master the Art of the Pavlova With Stephanie Alexander’s Classic Bake

There are a few things iconic to Aussie home kitchens. Tim Tams. A peeling jar of Vegemite. A vintage Sunbeam mixer. A family recipe for pavlova that’s been perfected over generations. And a copy of Stephanie Alexander’s famous cookbook, The Cook’s Companion.

This month, the Aussie cooking bible turns 30. To mark the milestone, Alexander has spent the last two years revising her 1000-recipe tome. She’s refined many recipes and added 90 new dishes to make sure it remains the definitive guide for the next generation. To celebrate her gargantuan influence on our national palate, and the release of The Cook’s Companion 30th Anniversary Edition, we’ve returned to the original 1996 recipe for her quintessential dessert: the pavlova.

Even for a seasoned baker, the famous pav can be a fickle beast – and Alexander knows it. “Pavlova can be difficult to cook, as the meringue needs a short period of high heat to set and crisp the exterior and then a long period of cooling heat to set but not dry out the marshmallowy interior,” she writes.

But making Australia’s favourite dessert doesn’t have to be a palaver. Success lies in understanding the quirks in your kitchen. “If your oven does not adjust temperature quickly you may have better results by cooking the pavlova at 120°C (100°C fan) for 2 hours,” Alexander notes.

The biggest red flag to avoid is the infamous “weeping” pavlova. “If syrupy droplets form on the surface of the meringue, you’ll know you have overcooked it; liquid oozing from the meringue is a sign of undercooking,” she writes. Follow her straightforward method below for a crisp shell, a cloud-like centre and a perfect finish.

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Pavlova by Stephanie Alexander

Serves 8–10
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour, plus cooling time

Ingredients

4 egg whites, at room temperature
Pinch of salt
250g caster sugar
2 tsp cornflour
1 tsp white-wine vinegar
A few drops of pure vanilla
1¼ cups cream, firmly whipped
Pulp of 10 passionfruit

Method

Preheat oven to 170°C (150°C fan).

Line a baking tray with baking paper and draw a 20cm-diameter circle on the paper.

Beat egg whites and salt until satiny peaks form.

Beat in the sugar, a third at a time, until the meringue is stiff and shiny.

Sprinkle over the cornflour, vinegar and vanilla and fold in lightly.

Mound onto a paper-lined baking tray within the circle, flattening the top and smoothing the sides.

Place in the oven, immediately reduce the heat to 130°C (110°C) and cook for 1 hour.

Turn off the oven and leave the pavlova in it to cool completely with the door ajar.

Invert the pavlova onto a platter, pile on cream and spoon over the passionfruit pulp. Note it will take at least 1 hour for the meringue to soften after adding cream.

This is an edited extract from The Cook’s Companion 30th Anniversary Edition by Stephanie Alexander. Published by Penguin Random House (RRP $130).