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.
1 ¾ cups whole milk
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.
¼ cup corn starch, ½ cup sugar, ¼ teaspoon salt, 4 egg yolks
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.
¼ cup Passion Fruit Puree
Stir in the vanilla extract and then pour the entire mixture through the sieve into a bowl.
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
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.