I well remember the episode on the Great British Baking Show. It was vegan week. Now I for one cannot imagine baking without eggs and butter, but that is me. Back to vegan week – they were to make a meringue without eggs. WHAT?! How in the devil do you make meringue without eggs? Apparently you do it with chickpea juice – aquafaba. And so it is for the next challenge in The Great British Bake Off Bakealong. We were charged with making a Vegan Pavlova. If you do not know what a pavlova is – it is a dessert with a meringue base, a creamy filling and fruit. It was created in honor of the great ballerina, Anna Pavlova.
The recipe for the base meringue is taken from Little House Big Alaska. Laura adapted it from Prue Leith.
I personally would like to know who looked at chick pea juice and thought, “let’s whip the devil out of that and see what happens.”
Whatever. It works. I am seriously amazed at how well it works. So people, save your chick pea juice.
Vegan Pavlova
with a recipe for vanilla pudding and a link to a vegan coconut filling
Makes one large Pavlova or 8 personal sized Pavlovas
- 1 tsp cream of tartar
- 1 cup aquafaba minus 1 TBSP, water from cooked beans (from two cans)
- 1 1/3 cup Sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla OR seeds from 1/2 vanilla bean
- 1 tsp corn starch
Rich Vanilla Pudding
- 3⁄4 cup sugar
- 1⁄4 cup cornstarch
- 1 cup milk
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1⁄2 tsp salt
- 3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
- 1 TBS butter
- 1 tsp vanilla (I used a scraped vanilla bean)
Assorted Fruits (4 cups) – of course use whatever is on hand, fresh, your favorite
- oranges
- kiwi fruit
- pineapple (canned or fresh)
- pomegranate
- preheat oven to 250˚
- line two baking sheets with parchment paper, draw 4-inch circles (4), flip over so the pencil mark is on the bottom, and set aside
- put the cream of tarter in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attached
-
add the aquafaba and run the stand mixer on medium until the mixture gets foamy
-
turn the mixer on high and let run until the mixture holds soft peaks 8-10 minutes
-
with the mixer running add the sugar Tablespoon by Tablespoon until it’s gone and the meringue is glossy
-
add the vanilla and beat for 30 seconds
-
sprinkle the corn starch over the meringue and whip another 30 seconds
-
fill a large piping bag fitted with a large tip with meringue, and fill in the circles on the parchment. If desired, add a decorative tip to a second bag, fill it and pipe stars, shells or your choice of edge on the circles
-
repeat with the remaining meringue
-
bake for 75 minutes in the pre-heated oven, leave the door shut and do not open the oven
-
after 75 minutes, turn off the oven, open the door to let out the heat and let the meringues cool
-
once cooled you can peel off the paper and place on a cooling rack to the let the bottom dry
-
pavlovas are best served fresh, so assemble directly before serving
Make the Pudding
- While the meringues are baking, make the pudding.
- Add sugar, cornstarch, milk and salt to a heatproof bowl. Set over simmering water.
- When mixture begins to thicken, add part of mixture to egg yolks to temper; mix well, then pour egg mixture back into mixture in double boiler.
- Cook until mixture coats the back of a spoon.
- Add butter and vanilla.
- Pour through a sieve into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap set directly on top of pudding to cool.
Build the Pavlova
- Place one disc on a plate
- Add about half a cup of pudding (or whatever filling you choose) and spread around center of disc. Top with chopped fruit.
- Top with second disc, repeat with pudding and fruit
You can also just serve one disc topped with filling and fruit per person if you choose. It’s a versatile dessert. Instead of pudding you can put any of the following in the center:
- whipped cream
- ice cream
- sweetened yogurt
- whipped soft tofu with honey
You get the idea. The vegan meringue is only a base from which to build your pavlova.
How Was the Vegan Pavlova?
I must admit I was pleasantly surprised. Meringue is not my favorite but this one tasted pretty good. It was less sweet than an egg white meringue. The hubby was not home when I made this recipe and I did not want great quantities of leftover pavlova so I made small vegan meringue cookies with some of the leftover whipped aquafaba.
I baked them the same as the pavlova rounds and found they stored beautifully in airtight containers. I think they will be lovely if I try them again with some color using natural dyes. They taste rather like eating sweet air.
Questions? Comments? Leave them HERE
ALL PURCHASE LINKS ARE AFFILIATE LINKS WHICH MEANS IF YOU BUY ANYTHING THROUGH THEM I WILL RECEIVE A SMALL COMMISSION (AT NOT ADDITIONAL COST TO YOU)
Vegan Pavlova Base – Individually Sized
This makes a light and delicious dessert. Do not fill it until you are ready to serve. It’s not a dessert that will hold well.
- Prep Time: 25 min
- Cook Time: 75 min
- Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Part Vegan
Ingredients
- 1 tsp cream of tartar
- 1 cup aquafaba minus 1 TBSP, water from cooked beans (from two cans)
- 1 1/3 cup Sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla OR seeds from 1/2 vanilla bean
- 1 tsp corn starch
Rich Vanilla Pudding
- 3⁄4 cup sugar
- 1⁄4 cup cornstarch
- 1 cup milk
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1⁄2 tsp salt
- 3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
- 1 TBS butter
- 1 tsp vanilla
Assorted Fruits (4 cups)
- oranges
- kiwi fruit
- pineapple (canned or fresh)
- pomegranate
Instructions
- preheat oven to 250˚
- line two baking sheets with parchment paper, draw 4-inch circles (4), flip over so the pencil mark is on the bottom, and set aside
- put the cream of tarter in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attached
-
add the aquafaba and run the stand mixer on medium until the mixture gets foamy
-
turn the mixer on high and let run until the mixture holds soft peaks 8-10 minutes
-
with the mixer running add the sugar Tablespoon by Tablespoon until it’s gone and the meringue is glossy
-
add the vanilla and beat for 30 seconds
-
sprinkle the corn starch over the meringue and whip another 30 seconds
-
fill a large piping bag fitted with a large tip with meringue, and fill in the circles on the parchment. If desired, add a decorative tip to a second bag, fill it and pipe stars, shells or your choice of edge on the circles
-
repeat with the remaining meringue
-
bake for 75 minutes in the pre-heated oven, leave the door shut and do not open the oven
-
after 75 minutes, turn off the oven, open the door to let out the heat and let the meringues cool
-
once cooled you can peel off the paper and place on a cooling rack to the let the bottom dry
-
pavlovas are best served fresh, so assemble directly before serving
Make the Pudding
- While the meringues are baking, make the pudding.
- Add sugar, cornstarch, milk and salt to a heatproof bowl. Set over simmering water.
- When mixture begins to thicken, add part of mixture to egg yolks to temper; mix well, then pour egg mixture back into mixture in double boiler.
- Cook until mixture coats the back of a spoon.
- Add butter and vanilla.
- Pour through a sieve into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap set directly on top of pudding to cool.
Build the Pavlova
- Place one disc on a plate
- Add about half a cup of pudding and spread around center of disc. Top with chopped fruit.
- Top with second disc, repeat with pudding and fruit
Notes
If you would like to make a vegan filling you can use a coconut cream filling. Or use any vegan pudding you would like
This recipe will also make one large pavlova if you want to present that
Keywords: vegan pavlova, aquafaba, vegan meringue
