Dessert is sorted for your next gathering with the best Pavlova Roll you’ll ever eat. Berries and whipped cream are rolled and encased in this easy meringue roulade – crispy on the outside, and soft on the inside – how it should be. Make ahead or on the day!
Why We Love This
We joke that when you run out of time to make pavlova… make pavlova roll! It only needs 14 minutes in the oven, a slather of cream and fillings, before popping it in the fridge for a couple of hours. This is usually enough time for everything to set while you cook and eat dinner!
There’s nothing better than a dessert that looks this impressive, yet is still so easy to make.
It’s really adaptable to your favourite flavours, use the recipe as a base and tizzy it up to make it your own!
What is a Pavlova Roll?
Pavlova Roll is a variation of the very popular Australian / NZ Pavlova. Sometimes referred to as a meringue roulade, it has a crispy top and soft, mallow-like centre. Unlike original Pavlova, the meringue is spread out on a tray, baked, then layered with cream and berries, rolled up and served as a roulade.
You’ll often find this popular dessert served at big gatherings, birthdays or holidays such as Christmas, Easter and Australia Day.
Just like pavlova, the roll’s toppings and fillings vary depending on personal preferences. Popular combinations include berries, lemon, chocolate or mango. If you prefer an even faster, no bake version, Eton Mess may be more up your alley!
Where we learned this:
This was a favourite in Sarah’s home growing up. Her Nan kind of became obsessed with them, and would bring a roll to every gathering. So we hope you enjoy this recipe as much as her family has!
Reader Cooking Success Stories
Today’s make — Pavlova roll with blueberries and cream, topped with shaved chocolate. I’ve been wanting to try this for some time. Simple and delicious 🌞
It was fun to make too!
What You’ll Need
- Egg Whites – The heart of the meringue! You can swap out chicken eggs for duck eggs if you have them.
- Sugar – Caster sugar works best, as the fine grain blends quicker and easier with the eggs.
- Cornflour / Cornstarch – Adding a little cornstarch helps to soften the inside of the meringue. It’s essential for that classic marshmallow-like texture. Sub with arrowroot powder.
- Vinegar – This is the stabiliser for the egg whites. Sub with lemon juice or cream of tartar.
- Vanilla Essence – We love the flavour vanilla brings to the pavlova, you only need a little but it goes a long way. You can add vanilla bean to the whipped cream for an even more decadent dessert.
- Icing Sugar – Also known as confectioner’s sugar. This powdered sugar helps stop the meringue from sticking to the baking paper AND is nice and fine for sweetening the whipped cream.
- Berries – Blueberries and strawberries make a wonderful topping. If you want a Christmas themed topping – go for kiwi fruit and strawberries instead.
How to make Meringue Roulade:
- Pre-heat oven to 160°C / 320°F. Using a brush or paper towel, oil a baking tray then line with baking paper and smooth it out to the edges.
- Using a mixer or beaters, whip egg whites on medium until you have soft peaks. Start to slowly pour in the castor sugar, then beat on high for 8-10 minutes until glossy and smooth. The sugar should be dissolved at this point.
- Add cornflour, vinegar and vanilla essence and fold through on low until mixed through for around 30 seconds.
- Spread meringue mixture out on the lined baking tray, leaving a 2cm / 1 inch gap around all sides. Bake for 14 minutes or until you see it begin to brown.
- Meanwhile, prepare another piece of baking paper the same size as the tray and powder with 1 tsp of icing sugar.
- Remove pavlova from the oven and flip out onto the powdered baking paper. Carefully peel and remove the original baking paper and allow the pavlova to cool completely (around half an hour).
- Meanwhile, whip the thickened cream and 2 tbsp of icing sugar on high until thick and fluffy (around 1-2 minutes). Reserve around ½ cup of whipped cream for the topping.
- Slather the remaining whipped cream onto the base of the pavlova. Top with half the blueberries and sliced strawberries.
- Using the paper, begin to fold the pavlova up and away from you. You can roll the long edge for a longer roll, or roll the short edge for a taller but shorter roll. Once rolled into a roulade, with the edge on the bottom, use the baking paper to cover the roll, then wrap in a tea towel and place in the fridge to set for a minimum of 2-3 hours.
- Once ready to serve, unwrap from the paper and place on a serving plate. Top with the reserved whipped cream, blueberries and strawberries, or any other toppings of your choice.
Wandercook’s Tips
- Make Chocolate Shavings – Chocolate shavings over the top of a meringue roulade make it look so fancy and don’t require much effort. You only need a square of chocolate or a couple of chocolate buttons to grate straight over the roll and garnish.
- Leftover Egg Yolks – There’s so many ways to use leftover egg yolks. Bake a batch of Italian almond crescent cookies, add them to scrambled eggs, make hollandaise sauce with a blender or turn it into sweet shortcrust pastry!
- Batch the Recipe – This is a 4 egg pavlova roll, but feel free to make it a 6 or 8 egg roll – just increase the other ingredients accordingly. You may need a bigger tray, or to make two separate rolls.
- Electric Mixer – Using an electric mixer or hand beater will make this recipe 10x easier and quicker than trying to whisk the eggs by hand.
FAQs
It’s totally salvageable! Cut the meringue into 4 sections, and make a stack instead of a roll.
In the first instance, peel VERY carefully and slowly. Next, try ALL corners. Sometimes, it comes off easy from a different angle.
Another trick is to sprinkle a little water on the baking paper before slathering the meringue mixture on before baking.
Yes, this is fine. For the freshest results, leave it rolled in the fridge, and don’t decorate with toppings until just before serving.
Cornstarch / cornflour keeps the inside soft like a marshmallow, while the vinegar stabilises the egg whites as well as helping with the soft chewy centre.
More impressively easy desserts for your next gathering:
★ Did you make this recipe? Please leave a comment and a star rating below!
Ingredients
For the Pavlova Meringue
- 4 egg whites
- 1 cup caster sugar / superfine sugar 210g / 7.4oz
- 1 tsp cornstarch / cornflour
- 1 tsp vinegar
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp icing sugar / powdered sugar to coat baking paper
For the Whipped Cream
- 300 ml thickened cream heavy cream
- 2 tbsp icing sugar / powdered sugar
Optional Toppings / Fillings
- 1 punnet strawberries sliced
- 1 punnet blueberries
- 1 tbsp chocolate shavings or sprinkles
- whipped cream
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 160°C / 320°F. Using a brush or paper towel, oil a baking tray then line with baking paper and smooth it out to the edges.1 tsp vegetable oil
- Using a mixer or beaters, whip egg whites on medium until you have soft peaks. Start to slowly pour in the caster sugar, then beat on high for 8-10 minutes until glossy and smooth. The sugar should be dissolved at this point.4 egg whites, 1 cup caster sugar / superfine sugar
- Add cornflour, vinegar and vanilla essence and fold through on low until mixed through for around 30 seconds.1 tsp cornstarch / cornflour, 1 tsp vinegar, 1 tsp vanilla essence
- Spread meringue mixture out on the lined baking tray, leaving a 2cm / 1 inch gap around all sides. Bake for 14 minutes or until you see it begin to brown.
- Meanwhile, prepare another piece of baking paper the same size as the tray and powder with icing sugar.1 tsp icing sugar / powdered sugar
- Remove pavlova from the oven and flip out onto the powdered baking paper. Carefully peel and remove the original baking paper and allow the pavlova to cool completely (around half an hour).
- Meanwhile, whip the thickened cream and icing sugar on high until thick and fluffy (around 1-2 minutes). Reserve around ½ cup of whipped cream for the topping. Slather the remaining cream onto the base of the pavlova. Top with half the blueberries and sliced strawberries.300 ml thickened cream, 2 tbsp icing sugar / powdered sugar, 1 punnet strawberries, 1 punnet blueberries
- Using the paper, begin to fold the pavlova up and away from you. You can roll the long edge for a longer roll, or roll the short edge for a taller but shorter roll. Once rolled into a roulade, with the edge on the bottom, use the baking paper to cover the roll, then wrap in a tea towel and place in the fridge to set for a minimum of 2-3 hours.
- Once ready to serve, unwrap from the paper and place on a serving plate. Top with the reserved whipped cream, blueberries and strawberries, or any other toppings of your choice.1 tbsp chocolate shavings, whipped cream
Video
Recipe Notes
- Make Chocolate Shavings – Chocolate shavings over the top of a meringue roulade make it look so fancy and don’t require much effort. You only need a square of chocolate or a couple of chocolate buttons to grate straight over the roll and garnish.
- Leftover Egg Yolks – There’s so many ways to use leftover egg yolks. Add them to scrambled eggs, make hollandaise sauce with a blender or turn it into sweet shortcrust pastry!
- Batch the Recipe – This is a 4 egg pavlova roll, but feel free to make it a 6 or 8 egg roll – just increase the other ingredients accordingly. You may need a bigger tray, or to make two separate rolls.
- Electric Mixer – Using an electric mixer or hand beater will make this recipe 10x easier and quicker than trying to whisk the eggs by hand.
- Egg Whites – You can swap out chicken eggs for duck eggs if you have them.
- Cornflour / Cornstarch – Sub with arrowroot powder.
- Vinegar – Sub with lemon juice or cream of tartar.
- Vanilla Essence – You can add vanilla bean to the whipped cream for an even more decadent dessert.
- Icing Sugar – Also known as confectioner’s sugar.
- Berries – If you want a Christmas themed topping – go for kiwi fruit and strawberries instead.
Nutrition
10 Comments
Anne
11/08/2023 at 12:12 amI’ve never had any luck with meringue until this one!
It was so perfect to work with, and it baked up for exactly 15 minutes for me. Brilliant spongy texture, rolled up like a dream.
If I could give it a thousand stars I would.
Thank you!!!
Wandercooks
17/08/2023 at 8:45 pmOh wow, thanks for the amazing feedback Anne, and so happy to hear how well it turned out. Hope you enjoyed every slice!
denise mercer
12/03/2023 at 5:54 amI was intrigued by the 14 minute bake time, however, at 15 minutes the egg whites were still somewhat raw. I cooked for a further 20-25 minutes and it seems more cooked with a softer, spongier texture. It is a very nice recipe but I wondered if there was a typo in the cooking time, or perhaps my eggs were too large?
Wandercooks
12/03/2023 at 8:48 amHey Denise, definitely only 14 minutes usually. There can be a number of factors that can extend the oven time though:
– Make sure you have the fan forced option on your oven, otherwise it will take longer.
– Bigger eggs and/or layering the meringue thicker will increase cooking time.
Either way, you did the right thing – just cook it for longer until you see it start to turn that slightly golden colour on top and it’ll be fine. 😁 Hope that helps!
Mary
08/03/2023 at 12:13 pmWhat size baking sheet for four egg white recipe?
Wandercooks
08/03/2023 at 2:48 pmThe same size as your tray Mary. 🙂 We recommend a 40 x 27 cm (15.5 x 10.5 in) rectangle baking tray.
N LOWE
26/12/2022 at 5:55 amGot to say this is the best recipe I have used for a roulade and the results were perfect – a view shared by all who ate it and wanted more. This will definitely be a recipe that I will return to, time and again. Huge thanks
Wandercooks
30/12/2022 at 9:04 amOh wow, thanks so much for this feedback. That’s awesome, and so glad everyone enjoyed it!
Natalie
19/06/2022 at 12:51 pmThis recipe is amazing, beautiful marshmallow centre, so easy to make. The whole family were impressed, this will be our go to recipe for pavlova from now on, what a winner!
Wandercooks
20/06/2022 at 4:32 pmYay, that’s brilliant Natalie. Thanks for letting us know and so happy you all enjoyed it! 😀