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So. I need some help! I can cook a pav!
I can make a perfect meringue. White. Glossy. Stiff. Smooth... But then when I good the stupid thing it somehow forms a air bubble between the inside crust and the marshmallow centre and collapses :(
Today's effort: I cooked for an hour and a half... Not only is it hollow in the middle but it also didn't form a crust along the bottom. So it's stuck to the baking paper. MKR NZ style!
What am I doing wrong?
Could it be the sugar to egg ratio? Or else maybe the oven temp?
I had one cup of sugar to 4 eggs?
I think the temp is the issue too. But I just can't seem to find a right way! It's actually making me crazy!!
yep - was going to say oven temp as well.
What's a good temp/time to cook them for?
Try
Pre-heat the oven to 200`c
Put it in the oven, and reduce the temp of the oven straight away to 150`c
Cook for about an hour
Turn the oven off but let the Pavolova stay in the oven to cool
When it’s totally cold, remove from oven and turn onto a plate, and peel off the baking paper.
This is for a recipe with 4 egg whites. For a smaller recipe reduce the cooking time.
Try a tiny bit of spray on your paper.
Preheat oven to 150deg. Cook for 50mins and allow to cool completely in the oven before removing. This is from Maggie Beer Cook n Chef show. I have made this a few times and it's great.
If you google Maggie Beer Pavlova you will get this recipe. This recipe is 4 egg whites to 1 1/2 cup of caster sugar.
ETA:
Ingredients
4 egg whites
1 ½ cups caster sugar
1 teaspoon corn flour
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Mmmm, I usually drop the temp a bit further than that even - down around 110-120 and cook for an hour and a half or until dry to the touch, then cool in the oven with the door slightly ajar.
Trying onyx way first. If that doesn't work you're in trouble miss ;)
CK, I usually cook on 120 too but it still does the same thing. I just don't know where I'm stuffing up?
I understood from a 90-something year old friend of my grandmother, that the collapsing is due to over-beating the eggwhites before the sugar starts to go in. They should be just barely stiff, soft peaks, rather than hard peaks.
Then add the sugar slowly, spoonful at a time, so that each spoonful is dissolved before the next goes in (this extra beating brings it up to 'hard peak' stage.) Making sure all of the sugar dissolves properly stops that stickly, toffee-ish bubble stuff on the sides and bottom.
So as far as she believes (and she is know to our family as an expert sweets, biscuit and dessert cook) it's to do with the techniques, not the recipe, which is why different people get different results with the same recipe.
HTH
I do that too :(:
Argh!! It didnt work again!!
One of the old-timer's recipes I've got says to bake it right there on the plate you'll be serving it on. Saves transport/movement collapse issues.
My mum does that. She has a "pav plate". Hers are wonderful.:
Is it me, or does everyone else want to live in a world where each kitchen is home to a specially designated 'Pav plate'?
It seems a much kinder, loving place to be :)
I have a pav plate. It wouldn't be Aussie not to have one.
Fair dinkum, mate!
Are your eggs at room temperature?
No. But I've tried at room temp and the same thing still happens.
ummmmmm...... I go with buying them from safeway (or woolworths or whatever you call it where you are!) ;)
Yep. I buy from woolies too.
Gawd! Maybe it's just me!
Ok well then it's your oven. I daresay it's hotter than you think. Heat or cold eggs in a hot oven is mostly causes cracking and hollow pavs.
Yep, I'm with Rouge - if all the usual tricks aren't working, there's something else going on. If you're starting with room temp eggs, I'd invest in an oven thermometer to double check the temp.
Also when you say hollow do you mean it dips a little? Because that's pretty normal too. That's what the cream and fruit is for. I normally make a nigella pav. That is meant to crack and be messy, but it is awesomely tasty :)
The marshmellow part comes away from the crust. It's like it shrinks. It looks fine in the oven but once it cools it goes to pot (and I leave the door closed). They still taste yum! It just looks like a disaster!
I've recently moved to my parents place. I was cooking with a really terrible gas oven, but now mums oven is a brand spanking fan forced one...
Ill check with my mum tomorrow she is the master of the pav ;)
ok this is what my 9 year old DD does to make pav shellsand she makes them perfect
eggs at room temp
turn oven off and let cool b4 taking them out
make sure the bowl that you beat the eggs in is totally dry and clean and dont use a plastic bowl- use a metal one
moisture is your enemy and will cause the shell to crack!!
Oh det, your 9 year old dd? That's just hurtful! XD
I leave it in the oven to cool and use a metal bowl too. And rinse everything with vinegar before I start so nothing is greasy or anything.
Looks like I'll have to try the room temp eggs again.
All of the recipes I've ever used say to cool with the oven door ajar. I use a glass bowl -don't know what difference that would make. Perhaps it's too much vinegar from cleaning the bowl with it. Try just washing with hot soapy water and thoroughly drying it. Vinegar makes it squishier.
Does your recipe have cornflour in it?
Glass/metal, shouldn't make a difference, you just don't want plastic because it picks up little scratches that keep moisture. I usually wash my bowl in hot soapy water then rinse with freshly boiled water from the kettle then air dry. If there's any water and I'm in a hurry I'll use paper towel as teatowels no matter how well you wash them have bits of grease and stuff that kill pav.
Berry Pavlova Recipe - Taste.com.au - this is the recipe I use, which works perfectly for me.
It could be the fan-forced setting - not only does it make it effectively hotter than the temp you've set it at (you'd normally lower the temp by 10-15 degC if it's fan-forced) but the air movement could also contribute to the collapsing. You could try finding the normal bake setting, where the fan is not on?:
We have a fan forced oven as well. It also has just bake setting. I only use the bake setting when I have made a pav. The Fan Force would definitlely cook it alot quicker.