Mini Fruit Pavlovas with Ricotta Whipped Cream
All of the delicious fresh fruit of Summer is slowly coming to and end, but before it is gone, you need to make these Mini Fruit Pavlovas. They are the perfect light and delicious dessert to enjoy any night of the week!
If you made it this far but you’re wondering what a pavlova even is, it is very simple. It is made by whipping egg whites with sugar until stiff peaks, then baking that mixture until it is light, crisp a slightly chewy. They only take a couple ingredients and are truly one of the easiest desserts to make!
Something we really love about making pavlova is that it is a light dessert that you really always can save room for ;). It is naturally gluten free and the toppings and flavor combos are endless. Lemon curd, whipped cream, berries, and even jams are all popular toppings for pavlova. However, for this recipe we are topping these mini fruit pavlovas with a ricotta whipped cream and fresh Summer fruit.
The ricotta whipped cream is a fun and delicious way to switch up your whipped cream. Adding in the cheese adds a touch of saltiness and depth of flavor that is incredible. As for the fruit, you can use almost any fruit you have on hand. This combo of peaches, strawberries and blueberries just seems like the perfect trio to the end of Summer!
Tips for Making Mini Fruit PAvlovas
- Make sure that the bowl you use to whip the egg whites is clean and DRY! If there is any excess moisture in the bowl and remnants of any ingredients, it can interfere with how the egg whites thicken.
- Do not let any egg yolk get mixed in with this egg whites. This will also affect the final product.
- Allow the pavlovas to cool completely in the oven before serving. The pavlova need a good couple of hours to full cool and dry out as they set. If you try to serve them too soon, then can be sticky and very chewy.
- Only add the toppings to each pavlova right before you are going to serve them. Any moisture in your whipped cream or fruit with make the pavlova soft as it sits over time. For a nice light and crisp pavlova, top right before serving.
Mini Fruit Pavlovas with Ricotta Whipped Cream Ingredients
Egg whites– Use fresh egg white that you separate yourself. Do not use pre bought egg whites.
Sugar– You want to use a white granulated sugar. Something that will disolve nicely and not be gritty.
Vanilla– This is the main flavor enhancer of the pavlova base.
Cornstarch– Some pavlovas with call for cream or tartar and cornstarch. I like to keep it simple and just use cornstarch as my stabilizer.
Heavy Cream– Do not use half and half or coffee cream. You need the full fat in heavy cream to give you nice thick whipped cream.
Ricotta Cheese– If you cannot find ricotta cheese, marscapone cheese will also work. Both are delicious and very similar!
Summer Fruit- Any fruit you have on hand will work. I did a combination of fresh peaches, blueberries and strawberries.
Honey- Just a touch of honey is added to the fruit for a little extra sweetness.
The Steps
1.Preheat your oven to 250F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Next grab a clean dry bowl, and add the egg whites to it. Beat with an exlectric mixer with a whisk attachment for 2 minutes or until soft peaks.
3. Then, slowly add in the sugar and vanilla while the mixer is running. Continue to mix for about 5 minutes or until the egg whites have reached stiff peaks and are nice and glossy looking.
4. Use a rubber spatula and gently fold in the cornstarch.
5. Finally, spoon the egg mixture into 6 even sized blobs onto the baking tray. Using the back of the spoon, create slight indents into each blob to make space to put the whipped cream when they are done.
6. Bake the pavlovas for 1 hour, then turn the oven off and leave them in the oven with the door closed to completely cool for about 2 hours. This will prevent the pavlovas frm cracking and allow them to fully set and get nice and crisp before serving.
7. While the pavlovas are cooling, add the heavy cream and ricotta cheese to a bowl with a stand mixer. Beat on high until soft peaks form.
8. During the final minute of mixing, add in the sugar and continue to beat the cream until you get a nice thick whipped cream.
9. Lastly, toss all of the fruit in a small bowl with the honey and place in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
10. Once the pavlovas have fully cooled you are ready to serve. Place a pavlova on each plate. Top with a generous spoonful of the ricotta whipped cream and finish with a heaping scoop of that juicy fresh fruit. Enjoy!
If you give this recipe a try, leave a comment or a review below 🙂
Looking for another delicious recipe to use up tht delicious end of Summer fruit? Try this Blueberry Crumble Sourdough Cake with Peach Filling https://cmbarndominium.com/blueberry-sourdough-crumble-cake-with-apricot-or-peach-filling/
Light and crisp mini pavlovas, filled with a delicious ricotta whipped cream and topped with juicy seasonal fruit. The perfect light and refreshing dessert to make any night of the week! * This recipe can easily be doubled ifyou need to serve more people. *Make sure not to get any bits of egg yolk in the egg whites before mixing. Any egg yolk in the eggwhites can prevent them from getting nice and fluffy. *The pavlovas can easily be made the day or morning before you want to serve them. This ensure they can have time to completely cool and set. Simply store them in an air tight container on the counter wihtout any toppings until you are ready to serve. 
Mini Fruit Pavlovas with Ricotta Whipped Cream
Ingredients
For the Whipped Cream
For the Fruit Topping
Instructions
Notes
