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Easy Christmas Pavlova Wreath with Fresh Berries and Orange Whipped Cream

This Easy Christmas Pavlova Wreath with Fresh Berries and Orange Whipped Cream is THE PERFECT holiday dessert.  It’s what dessert dreams are made of!  Layers of crunchy marshmallowy meringue, orange whipped cream and fresh berries.  So festive. So beautiful.

Ingredients

Units Scale

Pavlova Wreath:

  • 1 cup granulated sugar (ground (or Caster sugar – see notes))
  • 2 tsp cornstarch
  • 6 large egg whites

Orange Whipping Cream:

  • 2 cups whipping cream
  • fresh zest from 1 orange (set aside about 1 – 2 tsp of the zest for garnish)

Toppings:

  • raspberries
  • blackberries
  • cranberries (mostly just for decoration)
  • fresh mint for decoration
  • orange zest (about 1 – 2 tsp)
  • confectioner’s sugar for sprinkling as decoration

Instructions

Making the Orange Whipped Cream:

  1. Before you make the Pavlova meringue make the whipping cream.  I like to do this first so there is time for the orange flavour to set in the whipped cream.
  2. First, using a small grater, make your orange zest.  You will have about 2 tbsp of fresh zest from a regular sized orange.  Set aside.
  3. Using a mixer, whip the whipping cream until it has stiff peaks.
  4. Then hand stir in the orange zest, until fully combined.
  5. Put it in the fridge until you are ready to use it.

Making the Pavlova:

  1. Preheat your oven to 250 degrees F.
  2. This recipe calls for 1 cup of granulated sugar, which I grind to make more fine.  (If you have caster sugar you can use the same amount of that instead.)  If you are using regular sugar, put the 1 cup of granulated sugar into a blender and pulse for a few seconds until the sugar is fine.
  3. Then, in a small bowl whisk together the sugar and cornstarch.  Set aside.
  4. In a large glass or stainless steel bowl, whip the egg whites until they are foamy with stiff peaks.
  5. Then while the egg whites are still whipping, gradually add the sugar and cornstarch mixture, 1 tsp at a time, until the mixture becomes glossy and forms stiff peaks.  The texture will be kind of like stiff shaving foam.
  6. Line a baking sheet with a sheet of parchment paper.
  7. To make a wreath formation, lay a small bowl (about 3 inches wide) in the centre of the baking sheet. 
  8. Then using a spoon, add big spoonfuls of the meringue onto the sheet, around the bowl so you get a wreath form.
  9. Then remove the bowl, and bake for 1 hour, until the pavlova meringue is barely golden in colour, has slight cracking and appears dry.
  10. Set aside to cool.

Putting it all together:

  1. Transfer the baked Pavlova onto a serving dish.
  2. Gently add dollops of the orange whipped cream all around the top of the wreath.  Be careful not to spread it too hard or the meringue will crack or crumble.
  3. Add the fresh berries evenly around the top of the wreath.
  4. Garnish with tiny fresh mint leaves, fresh orange zest and a dusting of confectioner’s sugar.
  5. Enjoy!  Seriously though…you will LOVE this dessert.

Notes

This recipe calls for 1 cup of granulated sugar, which I grind to make it more fine.  If you have caster sugar you can also use that.

Keywords: Christmas dessert, Christmas pavlova, pavlova