Cracked and Fallen Pavlova

ellejay

Hi I didn't want to hijack Hillbloom's thread so is started a new one, hope that's ok.

Following from Hillbloom's Pavlova Recipe thread, I made one last night, following the Delia recipe.
3 large egg white's
6 oz of castor sugar.
Whisk the white's until can turn upside down and don't fall out.
Slowly add the sugar.
Whisk to firm peak's.
Put in pre heated oven at 150 and turn down to 140.
Cook for an hour, turn oven off and leave overnight.

I thought I had been under whisking it, so whisked it until I could hold it over my head without it dropping.

But the pavlova cracked worse than usual and kind of caved in. There's a big gap between the top of the outer crust and the middle.

Does this happen to anyone else? Have you a remedy?
Wonder if my oven temp is off.

photo-44.JPG

Dizzyblonde

I make mine the same way, except after adding all the sugar I whisk it until it resembles thick shaving foam (which is probably the same thing you did). I used to run into problems when I just folded in the sugar as some recipes suggest.
It could be your oven temperature.

ellejay

maybe the temp is too high?

Dizzyblonde

Could be. Maybe starting at 140 and lowering it to 130 would work better.

sdp

yes could be the oven temperature, my oven runs hot so bake mine at at 130c ,
I make it a bit different from recipe above, but it works every time.( I also add 1 tsp each of cornflour, vinegar,vanilla which I fold i at the end ) bake for 1 hour -1 1/2 , I take mine out then, think I posted picture of one,I'll have a look

ellejay

Thanks i'd love to see a pic if yu can dig one out.
I love the marshmallow inside texture.

sdp

[IMG][/img]



this is it, if you want recipe let me know

ellejay

that looks delicious
is the inside soft and marshmallow?

could I have the recipe please

I feel guilty ditching Delia's recipe....O know that's silly!!

sdp

Yes, very marshmallow and crunchy outside this recipe has never failed for our family ( so far that is :rolleyes:)
egg whites, (the older the better, if to fresh I put egg whites in bowl cover with clingfilm and leave stand at room temperature for couple of days)
preheat oven 130c
so 3 egg whites
6oz (175g) caster sugar
1 tsp cornflour
1 tsp white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp vanilla extracts
line your baking tray
make sure your mixing bowl and whisk is grease free , you can rub a bit to lemon juice around it to be sure,
whisk egg whites till stiff, add sugar tbsp at a time, whisking well between one, till stiff and shiny
meanwhile stir cornflour/vanilla/vinegar together and fold into meringue. use a blob of meringue to hold down baking parchment
pile the meringue into a roughly 9 inch round, making sure there is a substantial hollow in center
bake for 1 and half to 2 hours, depending on your oven, or till pale brown and dry but a little soft in center, press lightly with your finger to test, leave to cool slightly then peel off baking paper, it will crack and sink a bit, I cool it on rack then, fill with cream and whatever fruit you like,

Hope it works for you, do let us know

ellejay

thanks for recipe

It'll be a little while before i do another one, but i'll try that recipe

ellejay

sdp wrote: »

Yes, very marshmallow and crunchy outside this recipe has never failed for our family ( so far that is :rolleyes:)
egg whites, (the older the better, if to fresh I put egg whites in bowl cover with clingfilm and leave stand at room temperature for couple of days)
preheat oven 130c
so 3 egg whites
6oz (175g) caster sugar
1 tsp cornflour
1 tsp white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp vanilla extracts
line your baking tray
make sure your mixing bowl and whisk is grease free , you can rub a bit to lemon juice around it to be sure,
whisk egg whites till stiff, add sugar tbsp at a time, whisking well between one, till stiff and shiny
meanwhile stir cornflour/vanilla/vinegar together and fold into meringue. use a blob of meringue to hold down baking parchment
pile the meringue into a roughly 9 inch round, making sure there is a substantial hollow in center
bake for 1 and half to 2 hours, depending on your oven, or till pale brown and dry but a little soft in center, press lightly with your finger to test, leave to cool slightly then peel off baking paper, it will crack and sink a bit, I cool it on rack then, fill with cream and whatever fruit you like,

Hope it works for you, do let us know

I followed your recipe exactly and unfortunately the same problem occurred.
Re the oven temp, I started at 130 and lowered to 120, maybe that's where I went wrong.

I found the outside to be a little crunchier than usual but apart from that the taste is the same.

Dizzyblonde

I made two for a family gathering on Sunday and used sdp's recipe.Yes they still cracked, but I was told they were my best ever - they were so marshmallow-y inside

@ ellejay - I find it better to make mine more or less the same depth all over, I just make a slight indentation in the centre. That way you don't get the 'gaping chasm' if it cracks much.

ellejay

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

I made two for a family gathering on Sunday and used sdp's recipe.Yes they still cracked, but I was told they were my best ever - they were so marshmallow-y inside

@ ellejay - I find it better to make mine more or less the same depth all over, I just make a slight indentation in the centre. That way you don't get the 'gaping chasm' if it cracks much.

I don't mind the cracking at all, I was hoping to stop it falling.
As in a big gap between the middle and the top.
But if that's what everyone experience's, that's ok.

sdp

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

I made two for a family gathering on Sunday and used sdp's recipe.Yes they still cracked, but I was told they were my best ever - they were so marshmallow-y inside

@ ellejay - I find it better to make mine more or less the same depth all over, I just make a slight indentation in the centre. That way you don't get the 'gaping chasm' if it cracks much.

@ Dizzyblonde- So glad they turned out ok,

@ ellejay - they will always be some cracking no matter what you do, that's the beauty of home made, do try Dizzyblonde's suggestion. Best of luck