What is the best way to making a great pavlova base?

The secrets: (some are old wives tales, but hey, it's an old recipe)

Eggs: Room temperature (you don't put eggs in the fridge do you?) and not fresh

Contamination: Make sure everything you use to prepare the base is perfectly clean, especially no grease. Use boiling water to rinse everything first. Metal or glass bowls are best, as plastic is harder to get 100% clean. Also make sure no yolk gets into the egg whites

Beating: When eggs whites have gone firm, add the sugar a little at a time using a powerful beater machine going flat out. NZ'ers use their trusty but ancient Kenwood Chef with the glass bowl for ten minutes until the it looks like the Swiss Alps on a sunny day. You should not be able to feel the castor sugar when you squish some mix between your fingers. If they go dull you have over beaten. They will still work but will go extra soggy when cooked as the sugar runs out

BTW: Use ear muffs when using your Kenwood Chef, I kid you not!

Size: Height = radius, or a little less. A radius of less than 10cm means you won't get Pav, just meringue. You can experiment with baking paper rings to hold the mix into a perfect cake shape if fussy. I wouldn't bother though

Problems:

• Collapse: You opened the oven door ... DON'T
• Cracking: Normal, don't worry. This is a messy desert and you'll be covering it with whipped cream soon!
• Crystallisation: over cooking
• Marshmallow like in middle: Normal, that's what a Pav is meant to be like. If it's not like that you have over cooked it, or you didn't make it thick enough. Foamed egg white is a self-insulator, once the outside cooks it stops the heat getting into the middle
• Weeping: too much sugar, over beating, or not enough cooking. Cook for little longer on humid days

If truly stuck, go on a course http://www.creativetourism.co.nz/workshops_taste_pav.html

This is what they should look like

A pavlova base is a meringue with cornstarch added. The addition of cornstarch makes a soft, marshmallow-y center. The Joy of Baking has what looks like a comprehensive recipe, although I haven't made it.

I've always just made it with a normal meringue base and only just learned this was "wrong" (silly English heritage I guess) . If you want to use a meringue base, there are two main considerations:

• Individual or Share? - You can either make small individual portions or a single large meringue that you cut. Meringue doesn't always cut great and the whipped cream makes the whole thing soggy, so you have to eat it in a day. Individual meringue's may be a bit big for a single serving and are harder to get chewy. Generally, I'll do a big one for a party and individual ones if I know how many diners I have.
• Hard or Chewy? Some people like their meringue really dry and airy, for which you leave it in the closed oven for a long time after cooking, maybe even overnight. Or you can pull it out a little earlier, leaving the center gooey and chewy. I have a strong preference for the second variety.

Other than that, all you need to do is make a meringue. I generally use the recipe from Delia Smith (she likes them chewy too). Essentially you just whip egg whites, disolve in some fine sugar, and bake it. It's super easy (if you have a mixer) and it's always a huge hit.

Good luck.

To anyone that isn't familiar with Pavlova (Australia's Favorite Treat), I strongly recommend you try one: Meringue topped with whipped cream topped with loads of fresh fruit.

I discovered how to make pavlovas a couple of years ago and have always found them really easy. My recipe uses egg whites, golden caster sugar, cornflour and white wine vinegar.

I have heard that it can be tricky to get this right so I always follow the exact same stages:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C
2. Cover the baking sheet with greaseproof paper
3. Whisk the egg whites until they form stiff and shiny peaks
4. Add the sugar a couple of tablespoons at a time, and when it is all added continue whisking for 3-4 minutes until it stands in peaks
5. Add the cornflour and white wine vinegar and whisk
6. Spoon on to the baking tray, making a dent in the middle
7. Place in the oven and turn it down to 120 degrees C
8. Cook for 1 and a half hours, then turn off the oven and leave until completely cold before removing.
9. Peel off the paper, and fill with whatever you like (I used thickly whipped double cream, and fruit.)

I have included the whole recipe because I'm not certain which of the stages is key. I would guess that properly whipping it (stages 3 & 4) and the cooking method (starting it off hotter, then turning down, and leaving it in the oven until completely cold) is probably part of it too. I also read when I first saw the recipe (can't remember where, sorry) that the white wine vinegar and cornflour are key to helping it set well too.

In terms of physically MAKING the base, shape the mixture into a ring on the tray, so that the outside of the pavlova is slightly higher than the inside. This helps the cream and fruit not fall off when you're cutting it.

The mixture needs to be really stiff so that it doesn't expand outwards into a big flat pav. I find that using a ratio of 1:2 icing sugar:caster sugar also helps form a stiffer and glossier mixture.

In my experience, the keys to good meringue are : Old Eggs and a clear day.

The fresher the egg, the thicker the white. An egg fresh out of the chicken will have a heavy gelatinous white that sticks to the yolk, and only a little bit of watery white.

As the egg gets older, the whites convert to the more watery form. This is what you want for meringue.

Secondly, I have much more success on clear days than I do on rainy days. I think it has something to do with the air pressure and humidity.

Hi as a Kiwi who loves Pav, the best way to cook it is Bake for 5-10mins at 180°c, then turn the oven OFF &leave until oven cold (@ an hour). Do not open door. I love a crisp shell but love the mallow centre. I know this comment probably too late! I hope you had luck. I don't really care what vinegar I use, normally malt vinegar just cos thats in front lol. Oh & when you haveput your cream on, sliced kiwifruit is Yum! ?

Pavlova is a formula. Have used it for 50 years & my mother used it weekly in their hotel as well. Weigh egg whites and use 2x sugar. Some cream of tartar can be added but I don't always use. Have never used vinegar. Can add vanilla. 350F 15 minutes. Turn oven off. Leave an hour then crack the door and leave till dry. Mum's pavs were epic - often to feed 25 people in her dining room. The formula was given to me by my mother-in-law who had used it for years too. Dont over complicate! It is a forgiving dessert!