I'm having pav issues >:-/

[myturn]

ummmmmm...... I go with buying them from safeway (or woolworths or whatever you call it where you are!)

[helle]

Yep. I buy from woolies too.
Gawd! Maybe it's just me!

[Rouge]

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.

[Cranky Kitten]

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.

[Rouge]

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

[helle]

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...

[Party-of-five]

Ill check with my mum tomorrow she is the master of the pav

[diva det]

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!!

[helle]

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.

[Floweryfields]

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?

[Cranky Kitten]

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.

[Pholi]

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...

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?

[~me~]

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.