Lychee & Pomegranate Flower Pavlova

A delicious Lychee & Pomegranate Pavlova which would be perfect to celebrate the Lunar New Year or any celebration. Recipe with step-by-step photos.

Flower Pavlova

With the Lunar New Year around the corner, I’m always thinking of creative ways to serve dessert. First and foremost, fresh fruit is usually the dessert of choice in many Asian households. Alternatively, there is an array of sweet Asian desserts which, unless you have grown up eating them, can be an unusual texture and/or flavour challenge to many.

As it is usually just me who eats the Asian desserts in my household, I decided one year to combine popular Asian fruits with my favourite Australian dessert – a pavlova – to make a flower-shaped pavlova. The result was a cute and delicious dessert which acknowledges both my Vietnamese and Australian heritage 🙂

The flower shape is a nod to the Tray of Togetherness that is shared with guests around the Lunar New Year, but also a nod to the flowers used to usher in luck and prosperity.

Pavlova Toppings

As a pavlova is essentially a large meringue, it is generally recommended to serve it with something tart to cut through the sweetness. There are, of course, always exceptions. Many of the fruits listed below have a slight tartness or work well in combination with a tart fruit, e.g. lychees with grapefruit.

For an Asian-inspired pavlova, I recommend using one or a combination of the following fruits:

• Lychees, fresh or canned
• Pomegranate seeds (symbolises fertility, longevity and prosperity)
• Pomelo, peeled and cut into segments (symbolises family unity)
• Grapefruit, peeled and cut into segments (symbolises good luck and happiness)
• Oranges, peeled and cut into segments (symbolises good luck and happiness)
• Star fruit, sliced
• Dragon fruit, peeled and sliced (symbolises good luck)
• Mango, sliced
• Passionfruit

Lychee Pavlova

Lychees come into season during the summer months in the sub-tropical countries, including Australia which grows some of the best lychees.

As lychees are only ever imported in Europe, they tend to make an appearance around Christmas and New Year, so many Europeans associate lychees with Christmas – strange but true!

Fresh lychees are an absolute delight. They have a very sweet and delicate flavour, and the fresh lychees can sometimes have a slight sourness to them.

If you can’t find fresh lychees, canned lychees are a perfectly acceptable substitute, although they tend to be much sweeter than fresh lychees because they are often stored in a syrup.

For a Lychee Pavlova, I highly recommend using fresh lychees for that subtle sourness to contrast with the sweet meringue. But if you can only use canned lychees, I recommend pairing it with a sour fruit such as grapefruit or passionfruit.

Pavlova Recipe

My flower pavlova recipe is based on my Classic Pavlova recipe. It is also very similar to my recipe for Christmas Pavlova Wreath, with a slight variation in shaping the pavlova.

When making a flower pavlova, you are, in effect, making small conjoining meringues. So the dessert will be crispier than your usual pavlova, but also easier to serve and portion.

How to Make a Flower Pavlova

Step 1

Unless you really want to have a heavy duty upper arm workout, an electric stand mixer or an electric hand-held beater is an essential equipment when making a pavlova.

Place the egg whites into a large, clean bowl that is free from any grease.

To ensure that the egg whites whip up nicely, make sure that they are at room temperature.

Step 2

Whisk the egg whites until they have tripled in volume and form soft peaks when you lift the beaters.

Soft peaks mean that, when you lift the beaters, the mixture forms a peak which falls over or which does not stand.

At this stage, the beaten egg whites should look very soft and foamy.

Step 3

Next, add the sugar, one spoon at a time, until the egg whites transform into a thick and glossy mixture, and stiff peaks form when you lift the beaters.

Stiff peaks mean that, when you lift the beaters, the mixture forms a peak which holds its shape.

It is important to make sure that the sugar has been completely dissolved in the egg white mixture, but it is also important to not over-beat the mixture once you start adding the sugar.

To test that the sugar has been completely dissolved, simply rub a bit of mixture in between your finger tips.

Step 4

Add the cornflour, vinegar and vanilla. A few rotations of the stand mixer should be enough to mix in these ingredients.

The resulting pavlova mixture should be thick and firm, and it should hold its shape when you start piling it on the baking tray.

If the pavlova mixture is soft and runny, and you are unable to shape it into a high pavlova because the mixture keeps sliding, it means that you may have overbeaten the eggwhites or that you added the sugar too soon. Please see the FAQs here.

Transfer the pavlova mixture to a large disposable piping bag and cut a tip about 1 cm/0.5 inch wide.

Step 5

Draw a 23 cm/9 inch circle on a large sheet of baking paper. Turn the paper over so that the ink is not touching the pavlova.

Pipe 1 round in the centre of the circle. Then pipe the remaining 2 rounds within the circle at 12:00 and 6:00. Next, pipe the remaining 4 rounds, to form 7 rounds in total.

Try to make each round roughly the same size by piping more mixture into the centre of any existing round.

If you don’t have a piping bag, simply use a large spoon (such as a serving spoon) to make large dollops.

Use a large spoon or offset spatula to smooth the tops of each round, and to even create a crater where the cream will later sit.

Step 6

Place the pavlova into the oven at 180°C/350°F.

Immediately turn down the temperature to 150°C/300°F.

Let the pavlova bake for 1 hour, and do not open the oven door during this time.

After the baking time, turn off the oven, and leave the pavlova to cool inside the closed oven for at least 2-3 hours.

Step 7

Decorate the pavlova just before serving.

Whip the cream until it is thick with soft peaks. Dollop the cream on top of the pavlova, either using a large piping bag or with a large spoon. Decorate with fruit and berries of your choice.

Print