What makes a pavlova empty inside?
I've been living in the US for several years and often make a pavlova for my friends at dinners. I made one this Christmas and it was probably the first I made that didn't collapse in on itself! I was pretty happy about that - baked at 200 deg F (~95C) for 1:20, then left to sit in the oven for another 0:50 until I took it out.
So anyway, nice ~6-inch diameter, 2-3-inch tall pavlova, with sides slightly taller than the center, and it sat nice and tall with lots of cream on top until I cut into it.
Then I saw it was completely empty inside! The crust was hard enough to hold the structure, and chewy, but there was just air in place of the silky soft foam on the inside that should be the filling of a good pavlova. It was tasty, but more of a giant meringue than a pavlova.
I really want to master this - I feel I'm getting closer with it not collapsing this time, and probably used lower temperature than I have before, but I still need to get that soft smooth foam in the middle to get this right.
Did I leave it cooking too long or too hot, still?
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Quick Answer about "What makes a pavlova empty inside?"
Pavlovas can go flat for a few reasons – not enough air was incorporated into the egg white mixture, or the pavlova shrunk during the cooling period and collapsed. Once you add sugar to the egg whites, you will find that the meringue mixture deflates and becomes runny. This is normal.How can you tell if a pavlova is undercooked?
How Do I Know My Pavlova Is Done? A perfectly baked pavlova should be pale and look dry, but a skewer inserted in the meringue should come out with a thick sticky, marshmallow-like consistency. If you aren't sure about the pavlova's doneness, turn the oven off, open the door and leave the meringue for up to an hour.What should pavlova be like inside?
The perfect pavlova has a crisp exterior and a soft pillowy, almost marshmallow like inside. The acid (my preference is lemon juice, I dont really like a meringue that tastes of vinegar) helps to stabilise the meringue and the cornflour helps the pavlova retain moisture, creating the characteristic soft inside.What happens if you over beat a pavlova?
If you overbeat the mixture after adding the sugar, your meringue may crack and collapse during baking. To avoid this, only beat the mixture until the sugar dissolves \u2013 test this by rubbing a little of the mixture between your fingertips.How do you fix a weeping pavlova?
You could also try whisking in the vinegar in before adding the sugar and espresso powder as this will help to stabilize the egg whites. If your meringue base is spreading or weeping it is likely that the egg whites were slightly over whisked before the sugar was added.Pavlova - An iconic Australian dessert with a thousand colors!
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Max Vakhtbovych, Ryutaro Tsukata, RODNAE Productions, Infoniqa