Please Note: This post has been sponsored by Da Vine Foods. All opinions are our own.
Pavlovas are always a winning dessert! And during the height of summer, we love adding several layers of passion fruit flavors to ours. These Passion Fruit Mini Pavlovas have a passion fruit pastry cream, a passion fruit agrodolce sauce, and are topped with homemade vanilla whipped cream!
What is Pavlova?
A pavlova is a delicious meringue dessert consisting of whipped egg whites and sugar in the base. The pavlova is topped with various toppings like pastry cream, curd, fresh fruit and/or whipped cream.
The meringue base has a crispy crust on the outside and a super soft and fluffy interior, which differs from other meringues that are dry and airy throughout. The key to the fluffy marshmallow-like interior is the addition of an acid and some cornstarch in the meringue. This texture really can't be beat!
What's in the Passion Fruit Mini Pavlovas?
We absolutely adore the tart and sweet passion fruit flavors and when combined with the fluffy yet crisp pavlova base, the flavors combine for a marshmallow-y mouthful that will have you reaching for another!
Passion Fruit Pastry Cream
We incorporated Da Vine Foods Passion Fruit Puree into a vanilla pastry cream that is perfectly light yet rich with a wonderful subtle balance of passion fruit. We didn't want the pastry cream to be overwhelming with passion fruit flavor, because we had other plans for these mini pavlovas to make your taste buds dance.
The best part about this pastry cream is that it is so versatile. It can be added between layers of a cake, into a cream puff or eclair, as the filling of a macaron, or simply added to a bowl of berries as a refreshing summer dessert! So, get creative and use this pastry cream in other sweet treats as well!
Passion Fruit Agrodolce Sauce
We are big fans of combing flavors to create something unique! And one of our favorite sauces to create is a sweet and sour agrodolce (gastrique) sauce. The most basic agrodolce or gastrique is equal parts sweet (sugar) and sour (vinegar) that can be added to anything to make it shine, like fruit. But that ancient baseline is just the template for making a sauce that can really elevate sweet dishes and can add so many options to your favorites. We often use these in desserts, such as our Meyer Lemon Olive Oil Cake, or drizzled over gelato or a creamy brie cheese.
The wonderful thing about these sauces is that they can be used for savory dishes, too! They brighten any of your favorite eats and definitely add another dimension and level of flavor. We often will make agrodolce sauces to drizzle over duck, pork or chicken, as well as vegetables or as a dressing for a salad. They work great as a glaze on salmon or other seafood, too.
The passion fruit agrodolce sauce we made for the pavlova packs so much passion fruit flavor into it and turns this into something truly special when drizzled over the pavlova with passion fruit pastry cream.
Where can I find Passion Fruit?
Use code CWW15 for 15% off $50+ of Passion Fruit Products
It is often a challenge finding passion fruit in its whole form here in Texas. Even if we can find them, they are often unreasonably expensive. So we always have a bottle of Da Vine Foods Passion Fruit Puree on hand so we can make delicious passion fruit recipes any time! Da Vine Foods is a Hawaii-based company selling a variety of high-quality passion fruit products.
Check out some of our other passion fruit recipes using Da Vine Foods products below. And use our promo code CWW15 to get 15% off when you spend $50+ on passion fruit products (excluding sale items).
- Passion Fruit Milk Chocolate Hand-Rolled Truffles
- Brie and Passion Fruit Pepper Jelly Grilled Cheese
- Brown Butter Cardamom Linzer Cookies with Passion Fruit Jelly
- Passion Fruit White Chocolate Mint Gelato
- Grilled Salmon with Passion Fruit Glaze
We were able to get our hands on some whole passion fruit this summer and topped our pavlovas with some of the pulp for a bit extra flavor and texture. This is optional, but we recommend giving it a try if you can find passion fruit. The black seeds are edible and have a nice crunch, as well.
Enjoy!
We hope you enjoy this recipe for these beautiful Passion Fruit Mini Pavlovas! If you give these a try, leave us a comment below or tag us on Instagram @cooking_with_wine.
Looking for more Summer recipes? Check out some of our other popular recipes below:
- White Chocolate Raspberry Bundt Cake
- Whiskey Maple Brioche Donuts
- Spicy Grilled Watermelon Salad
- Peach Elderflower Frosé
- Spicy Ginger Garlic Shrimp Skewers
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📖 Recipe
Passion Fruit Mini Pavlovas
Ingredients
Pavlova
- 6 egg whites (205g) at room temp
- 1 ½ cups super fine sugar (300g)
- ½ teaspoon white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Passion Fruit Pastry Cream
- 1 ¾ (453g) cups whole milk
- ¼ cup (68g) Passion Fruit Puree
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 (72g) egg yolks
- ¼ cup (34g) corn starch
- ½ cup (110g) sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Passion Fruit Agrodolce
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 teaspoon water
- ½ cup passion fruit puree
- 1 tablespoon champagne vinegar
Vanilla Whipped Cream
- 1 cup heavy cream (cold)
- 1 tablespoon sugar (add more if you like it sweeter)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Pavlova
- Preheat your oven to 350° F
- Separate your egg whites and set the yolks aside (you will use 4 in the pastry cream)
- Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat the eggs for 1-2 minutes until soft peaks form.
- Slowly add your sugar and continue to beat until stiff peaks form.
- Add the vanilla and white wine vinegar and continue to beat to combine thoroughly for about 1 min.
- Sprinkle the cornstarch on top and fold it in until incorporated completely, about 10 turns of the spatula.
- Add the meringue to a piping bag with tip and pipe into nests onto a silpat or parchment-lined baking sheet. Alternatively, spread meringue into nests using a spoon (approx 4-5 inch in diameter).
- Turn the oven down to 200° F and bake for 60 minutes. Do not open the door while the pavlovas are baking. Once done, turn the oven off and let the pavlovas sit in the oven for 1-2 hours, or until dry on the outside (see note).
Passion Fruit Pastry Cream
- You can make your pastry cream while the pavlovas bake, or ahead of time and keep in the fridge until ready to use.
- Heat the milk in a saucepan over medium until just warm.
- In a separate bowl mix together the corn starch, sugar and salt. Add the egg yolks to the dry mixture, and whisk together until combined.
- Slowly add the warm cream to the dry ingredients (¼ cup at a time) and mix until smooth. Continue adding the warm milk until about half has been added, then transfer the mixture back into the saucepan over medium heat and set a fine sieve over a bowl nearby.
- Add the passion fruit puree and whisk continuously for about 5 minutes until the mixture thickens to a pudding-like consistency, then remove from heat.
- Stir in the vanilla extract and then pour the entire mixture through the sieve into a bowl.
- Cover the pastry cream with plastic wrap so that the plastic wrap is touching the surface. This will prevent it from forming a skin on top. Let it sit to cool at room temp for about 30 minutes then place it in the fridge for at least 1 hour before using on the pavlovas.
Passion Fruit Agrodolce
- While your pavlovas are cooling in the oven, make the agrodolce.
- In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, honey and water and cook over medium heat without stirring. Notice the color when you begin. When the mixture darkens from its original color and the sugar is dissolved, you can move to the next step. This will take about 4-5 minutes, and all sugar should be dissolved.
- Add the passion fruit puree and the vinegar and stir to combine. Reduce heat to medium low and, stirring often, reduce the mixture to a thicker consistency. Once the mixture is a little thicker than maple syrup, it is finished. If you cool the mixture and it seems too thin or if you want a more concentrated flavor, return the pan to the heat, and reduce further.
- Let the mixture cool and then use as needed.
Vanilla Whipped Cream
- Mix the cold cream with the sugar in a container and refrigerate for 5 minutes to begin to dissolve the sugar.
- Place a metal bowl and the beaters of an electric mixer in the freezer for 4-5 minutes.
- Remove the bowl from the freezer and pour the cream into the bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat the cream and sugar for a few minutes on medium speed until the mixture begins to thicken.
- Add the vanilla extract and continue to beat until the cream forms stiff peaks. Do not over beat the cream or it will begin to lose its silky texture and start to curdle. Use immediately or refrigerate, covered with plastic wrap.
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