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Lemon Meringue Pavlova

This Lemon Meringue Pavlova is lemony, sweet, and so delicious! All the flavour of a lemon meringue pie but on a soft pillowy Pavlova meringue.

If you love lemons then I think you will absolutely love this Lemon Meringue Pavlova.  With a delicious marshmallowy meringue base, and a creamy lemony curd topping, this Pavlova is a show stopper dessert.

a side view of a lemon pavlova with lemon curd and whipped cream. in the background are sliced lemons

Pavlovas are clouds of deliciousness!

This dessert has the classic meringue base of Pavlovas…a tall circular cloud of marshmallowy deliciousness.  This almost bowl-like base is the perfect vessel for the lemon curd and whipped cream in this dessert.

a top down view of a pavlova meringue. in the background are sliced lemons and sprigs of mint

Tart, sweet and lemony.

The great thing about Pavlovas are the many, many different toppings you can add to them, but this lemon combination is probably my favourite.  It’s absolutely wonderful.

a top down view of half of a lemon pavlova with lemon curd and whipped cream. in the background are sliced lemons and sprigs of mint

Bright, Fresh and Flavourful!

All the flavour of this Pavlova dessert comes from the delicious creamy lemon curd.  It is so bright and lemony, you’ll want to eat it up with a spoon.  In fact, this curd is wonderful on so many things…ice cream, cakes, crepes, tarts, and it’s THE perfect topping for the sweet marshmallow meringue in this Lemon Meringue Pavlova.

a top down view of a lemon pavlova with lemon curd and whipped cream. in the background are sliced lemons and sprigs of mint

a top down view of half of a lemon pavlova with lemon curd and whipped cream. in the background are sliced lemons and sprigs of mint

I mean, just look at that curd…so so good.

a side view of a lemon pavlova with lemon curd and whipped cream. in the background are sliced lemons

Have you ever seen such a pillowy soft dessert?

a side view of a lemon pavlova with lemon curd and whipped cream. in the background are sliced lemons

Perfect for special occasions

This Pavlova would be wonderful for Easter, Mother’s Day or any special occasion…every day is a special occasion too!  Enjoy.

a slice cut out of a lemon meringue pavlova

ABOUT THE Pavlova INGREDIENTS:

  • Sugar:  This recipe calls for 1 cup of Caster Sugar, which is also called Berry Sugar.  If you don’t have this, you can use granulated sugar which needs to be ground to make more fine.  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.
  • Eggs:  Make sure you don’t get any yolk mixed in with the egg whites.  The yolks will inhibit the whipping.

a top down view of a Pavlova meringue

PAVLOVA RECIPE TIPS:

  • Shaping the meringue:  Using a spoon, pile the whipped meringue onto the parchment paper in a circle about 8 inches wide, and 3 inches tall. Make the sides of the meringue a little higher than the centre, leaving a slight bowl like indent in the middle…this creates a nice little spot for the lemon curd and whipped cream.
  • Baking:  Make sure to line a cookie sheet with parchment paper for baking.
  • Let the meringue cool completely before you assemble the dessert. 
  • Cracking:  Don’t worry about cracking, Pavlovas are NOT perfect.  Don’t let anyone tell you they are.  The very delicate nature of the ingredients makes cracking pretty much inevitable. And you’re going to be covering the meringue with lemon curd and whipped cream, so you won’t see most of the cracks anyway!
  • Make Ahead Tips:  You can make the pavlova meringue, lemon curd and whipped cream ahead of time, even a day or 2 ahead. Just leave your Pavlova unassembled then assemble everything when you’re ready to serve it!
  • Assembly:  Even though Pavlovas are pretty robust and can actually be assembled hours ahead, I like to do this right before I serve it.
  • Whipping Cream:  Use heavy whipping cream.  I also don’t add any sugar to my whipped cream because the meringue and curd are sweet enough.  The unsweetened whipped cream is a nice balance to all the sweetness.
  • Garnish:  I like to sprinkle on a little grated lemon zest as a garnish.
  • Leftovers:  If you have leftovers, store them in an air-tight container in the fridge for 1 – 2 days.  The leftovers will be soft, and the meringue won’t be as crunchy, but the leftovers are still delicious.
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Lemon Meringue Pavlova

This Lemon Meringue Pavlova is lemony, sweet, and so delicious! All the flavour of a lemon meringue pie but on a soft pillowy Pavlova meringue.

  • Author: Jo-Anna Rooney
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 90 minutes
  • Total Time: 2 hours
  • Yield: 8 1x
  • Category: Dessert

Ingredients

Units Scale

Pavlova:

  • 1 cup granulated Caster sugar (See tips above.)
  • 2 tsp cornstarch
  • 6 large egg whites

Lemon Curd:

  • 3 egg yolks
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • zest from 1 lemon
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup butter

Whipped Cream:

  • 2 cups whipping cream

Instructions

Making the Pavlova:

  1. Preheat your oven to 250 degrees F.
  2. In a small bowl whisk together the sugar and cornstarch.  Set aside.
  3. In a large glass or stainless steel bowl, whip the egg whites until they are foamy with stiff peaks.
  4. Then while the egg whites are still whipping, gradually add the sugar and cornstarch mixture, 1 tbsp at a time, until the mixture becomes glossy and forms stiff peaks.  The texture will be kind of like stiff shaving foam.
  5. Line a baking sheet with a sheet of parchment paper.
  6. Using a spoon, pile the meringue onto the parchment paper in a circle about 8 inches wide, and 3 inches tall. Make the sides of the meringue a little higher than the centre, leaving a slight bowl like indent in the middle…this creates a nice little spot for the lemon curd and whipped cream.
  7. Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes, until the pavlova meringue is barely golden in colour, has slight cracking and appears dry.
  8. Set aside to cool. Let the meringue cool completely before adding the lemon curd and whipping cream.

Lemon Curd:

  1. While the Pavlova is baking, make the lemon curd.
  2. In a saucepan whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest.
  3. Then on low-medium heat, cook the lemon mixture until it lightly boils then thickens. And make sure to stir it constantly. This step should only take about 5 – 8 minutes.
  4. Remove the lemon mixture from the heat and whisk in the butter until it is melted and thoroughly mixed in.
  5. Set aside to cool.

Whipped Cream

  1. Using a mixer whip the whipping cream until it is fluffy. Note:  I do not add sugar to this whipped cream because the pavlova and the lemon curd are sweet enough.  The unsweetened whipped cream is a nice balance to all the sweetness.

Putting it all together:

  1. Gently transfer the baked and cooled meringue base onto a serving plate.
  2. Using a spoon gently add spoonfuls of the cooled lemon curd to the top of the meringue until it fills the centre. You can then use a spatula to smooth it out. Be careful not to press down hard or the meringue will collapse.
  3. Top with whipped cream.
  4. Garnish with fresh lemon zest if you like.

Keywords: lemon curd, lemon meringue, lemon pavlova, pavlova

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