Pavlova Troubleshooting: Everything I Learned After 30 Test Batches

After 30 batches of testing (yes 30!), I’ve cracked the code to making the perfect pavlova and I’m here to share everything I’ve learned along with a troubleshooting guide. My recipe works ever single time. It took a lot of trial runs and problem solving to get there but the good news is you don’t have to go through any of that because I spent 4 weeks doing it for you. This post covers everything I learned along the way. Some of it surprised me, some of frustrated me, but it all helped me get to the final version that I now use.

And by the way, I did actually make 30 pavlovas. That’s roughly 150 egg whites (no yolk). Sorry, couldn’t help myself 😂.

I’m going to start with a contents section so you can skim through what I’m going to cover in case you want to read that section.

Some words of encouragement

Even if your pav collapses, for whatever reason (it shouldn’t if you use my recipe) it’ll likely taste amazing, and you can cover it with cream and berries. It’ll be ok. Mine collapsed Christmas 2024 which led me to this deep dive on getting a pavlova that would never collapse. At the end of the day, the important thing to remember is that you learn from the last bake and adjust in the next bake. It’s what I spent my entire week doing all year round.  Bake, disappointment, adjust, bake again.

While I’m at it, these are the two recipes I would reccomend trying once you’re ready to make a great pavlova:

Strawberry pavlova – perfect for berry lovers. It uses loads of fresh strawberries for a simple sauce that’s drizzled on top of my fluffy chantilly cream.

Classic Pavlova – this is my base recipe. I’ve included full step-by-step images to help guide you through making the very best pavlova that won’t sink!

What I learned from 30 batches of testing

Cracks vs sinking

Those are the two biggest problems I came across when I embarked on updating my pav recipe. Oh and by the way, I’m going to refer to pavlova as ‘pav’ because I’m Australian and our favorite sport is shortening all words.

I’m ok with cracks in a pav. You can cover cracks with toppings and frankly, some cracking is normal and ok. Nobody will see them once you add your cream and fruit. But when your pav sinks or collapses, to me, that just makes for a messy looking pav. I mean, it’s going to taste the same, but it’ll look like it was thrown around the house before you decorated it.

My recipe won’t sink. It did initially. What fixed it for me was the crust needed to bake up thick enough to support the pavs structure. The meringue couldn’t just dry out, it need to bake into something strong. The solution was more sugar. I’ll cover that in the post.

Shaping matters more than I expected

Turns out those ridges aren’t just for decoration. They help support the pavlova, like little columns. I tested versions with and without them and the ridged ones held up better every time. Straight ridges were the most effective and easiest to shape. Angled ones looked good but caused cracks that made the pav harder to move off the tray.

I also got better results shaping the pavlova with a wider base and slightly sloped sides. The taller shape gave me plenty of marshmallow inside, even though it baked with a gap between the crust and center. Flattening the top with a shallow dip helped stop it from doming and made space for the cream and fruit later.

Swiss vs French meringue method (I stuck with the French method)

I tested both French and Swiss meringue. French is where you hip the egg whites and slowly add the sugar directly into the bowl. Swiss is where you slowly dissolve the sugar in the egg whites in a double boiler before whipping.

The French method gave me the most consistent results. Better texture, flavor and just overall more stability. The biggest issue with it though is that you need to whip long enough for the sugar to dissolve but unless you’re careful, it can lead to overmixing which can lead to cracks. I was also getting this gold tinge on the outside of my meringue crust. I want a snow white pav! But honestly, I’ll take the cracks over the mess I was getting with the Swiss.

Swiss gave me collapsing, sinking and these weird hard pustules on the surface. They were hard  like toffee, they were like meringue shell bubbles poking through a soft crust. The texture on the inside was worse. Scrambled egg. It might have something to do with them being gently cooked before the egg is baked. It’s almost like double cooking. After 4 attempts I ditched it.

My breakthrough

Things started to change when I came back to the French meringue method with more sugar. I went from 210g of sugar to 300g. Once I did that I started seeing some pretty big fixes. I honestly could’ve cried.

• More sugar meant no gold tinge. I got a snow white pav. Weirdly, more sugar was the solution for that. I still don’t know why, but I’m not questioning it. It works.
• The crust baked up thicker which fixed the sinking issue. Thicker crust means more stability

I got that 300g number from looking at what others were doing with their recipes. When I saw they had a high egg to sugar ratio I decided to test it, Bobs your uncle, science to the rescue!

Mixing speed matters

In my early tests, I was mixing on high speed for a shorter amount of time, but it kept giving me a meringue that collapsed and wept. The sugar wasn’t dissolving properly, and the fast mixing was creating big air pockets. That made the structure unstable. Once I switched to medium speed and gave it more time, everything improved. The sugar had time to dissolve, the foam stayed glossy and thick, and the smaller air bubbles helped the pavlova bake with better structure and fewer issues.

For reference, my mixer has 7 speeds and I mixed on speed 3.

Nailing the bake

I paired my sugar high with a new baking approach. Starting the pav on a high temp 130C, and then dropping it to 95C as soon as it went in and baked for 90 minutes which is standard for a pav. More sugar meant the crust had enough time to form without needing to bake longer than that. The higher heat helped the crust set right away and the lower temp helped dry it out while still keeping a decent amount of marshmallow on the inside. My favorite part!

Ingredients and why they matter

Egg whites

Use fresh eggs. The fresher they are the tighter the proteins which help trap more air and give your meringue better volume. If you can’t get backyard eggs, use store bought. Look for the carton with the longest expiry date and use free range if you can. Use them 1-2 days after you buy them. I like separating my egg whites in a small bowl first before putting them into my mixing bowl because even a little speck of yolk will stop your whites from whipping up properly.

Caster sugar

It’s one of the most important ingredients in the recipe because it helps create structure, keeps the meringue stable and gives the pavlova it’s bright white shell. The best sugar to use is caster sugar. It’s finer than granulated sugar which means it will dissolve in your egg whites quicker. I started my testing with 210g of sugar for 180g of egg whites but I increased it to 300g and got a better structure, thicker crust and a bright white pav in the final result.

Corn flour

Corn flour gives the inside of your pav that soft marshmallow center with a slight chew. It also helps dry out the crust by soaking in moisture from the egg whites.

Cream of tartar

This acidic powder helps stabilize the meringue. I prefer using it over vinegar or lemon juice because it’s dry and doesn’t add any extra liquid. Moisture is a meringues worst enemy. I like mixing mine with the cream of tartar so the two ingredients mix into the meringue between.

Vanilla

I use either syrup based vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste. Alcohol based extracts can sometimes soften the crust or slightly deflate it. My favorite brand to use is Queen Vanilla extract.

Can you use additional flavoring or colors?

I wouldn’t recommend it. Meringue is a fragile balance of ingredients, and even small changes can throw it off. It doesn’t take much to mess with the texture, structure, or stability. Gel food coloring is ok, although I don’t know why you’d want to use them because the bright white pav is such a classic look.

My pavlova making process

Prep work I swear by

• Read the entire recipe – It helps me mentally walk through every step.
• Measure everything by weight – I even weigh out the egg whites. Even a few grams off can change how the meringue behaves
• Prep the baking tray – By tracing a 20cm / 8-inch circle onto baking paper and flipping it over so the marker doesn’t touch the pavlovas.
• Cleaning your bowl – you want to use a glass or metal mixing bowl (not plastic). Clean it with some white vinegar to make sure there are no trace fats which will prevent your meringue from wiping.
• Separate eggs one at a time – Separate into a small bowl first, then transfer each white to the mixing bowl. This way, if any yolk slips in, you won’t ruin the whole batch.
• Keep eggs cold for separating – cold eggs are easier to separate from the yolks cleanly.

Tips for making the meringue

If you’re after the exact ingredient amounts and step-by-step photos, you’ll find everything in my Classic Pavlova recipe. This post is more about my tips and what I learned while testing the meringue-making process.

• Mix on medium speed only. I keep mine on speed 3 out of 7. It’ll give you a better meringue foam with smaller air pockets
• Add the sugar slowly a spoonful at a time to give it time to dissolve before the next spoonful.
• Mixing on a low speed for longer gives the sugar time to dissolve without overmixing
• Your meringue should be glossy, thick and smooth. Rub it between two finger to check for sugar grains.
• If it’s gritty, mix for another 1-2 minutes until it’s fully dissolved
• Sift he corn flour and cream of tartar, then sift into the meringue and mix at the end.
• Once the meringue is ready don’t let it sit around too long. Shape it right away.

Shaping the meringue

I like to work fast when I’m shaping my meringue. Again, full step by step images in the full tutorial on how to make the perfect pavlova.

• Spoon the meringue into a mound in the center of the baking paper and use a spatula to shape into a rough cake shape.
• I like using an offset spatula to shape my pav, but a tablespoon will work too.
• I found straight ridges worked best when shaping the pav and helped support the structure as it baked and after.
• Shape the top flat with a shallow dip in the center to stop it from doming.
• The shape you start with is not the shape you end up with. Pavlovas expand as they bake and any sharp edges will round out.
• Don’t overwork the shaping. Get it close to the shape it needs to be and then pop it in the oven.

Baking your pav

• Preheating your oven to 130C is important. It helps give the crust a head start. As soon as the pav goes into the oven drop it to 95C and bake for 90 minutes.
• Bake for 90 minutes, then let it cool in the oven completely, ideally overnight. I bake mine the night before and then let it cool in the oven overnight.
• Do not open the oven door at any point. That’s really important. As soon as cool air hits the shell it will cause it to sink.
• Your oven temperature is really important. I have an oven thermometer which I place in the oven to give me an accurate reading of my temps. Too high a temperature will give you a golden looking pav. Too low will result in a pav with a weak outer shell.
• If I’m not serving the pav right away, I leave it in the oven until I’m ready to serve. Up to 2 days is ok. And I only decorate up to an hour before I’m ready to serve.

Why is humidity an issue for pavlovas?

Pavlova is generally served during warmer times of the year. Christmas is bang in the middle of our summer here in Australia so humidity can be an issue. Even cooler months where it rains nonstop can be an issue.

• It can stop the sugar dissolving properly – Instead of it moving around freely as it’s being whipped it can cause the sugar to clump.
• It creates a weak and unstable foam – Egg relies on a dry environment to whip up to a light and stable foam.

I’ve never understood recipe sites that say bake on a day that’s not humid. What if it’s humid on the day you need to make your pav? As long as you understand the above obstacles and keep an eye on achieving the right texture in your meringue, you should be ok.

Some adjustments you can make: Increase sugar by 20g, use 1 tsp of cream of tartar instead of 3/4 tsp and keep the pavlova height under 5cm. That will mean a slightly wider pav. Let it cool in the oven completely, then store in an airtight container.

How to fix a collapsed pavlova (and other pavlova problems)

Everything in this list has happened to me at some point. These are the fixes that worked for me.

Collapsing pavlova

• Usually caused because your pav is underbaked or baked on the wrong temp. It can also happen if you didn’t use the right amount of sugar or it wasn’t dissolved properly.
• FIX: Once a pavlova collapses, there’s no un-collapsing it. Your best bet is to embrace it looking rustic and to cover most of it up with cream and berries.

It stuck to the paper

• Caused by underbaking. The base didn’t get enough time to dry out.
• FIX: Your best bet is to cut around the paper and transfer it (with the paper) to your serving plate.

Weeping

• This is when liquid seeps out from the base of beads on the surface of your pav. It usually happens when the sugar wasn’t dissolved enough or the baked pav was exposed to a high humid environment.
• FIX: Use caster sugar and mix on medium speed. Give it enough time to dissolve. Store in an airtight container in a dry, cool place for up to 2 days.

Sugar won’t dissolve

• If your meringue feels gritty when rubbed between two fingers your sugar hasn’t dissolved. You’re either using the wrong sugar you didn’t mix for long enough.
• FIX: Make sure you use caster sugar, mix on medium speed. Don’t rush it. It takes time to dissolve. If it’s a humid day, your sugar may take up to 20 minutes to dissolve!

Egg whites won’t whip

• If your egg whites won’t increase in volume or stay foamy it’s probably because there’s some trace of fat in the bowl or some of the yolk got into the whites.
• FIX: Wipe your bowl clean using white vinegar and use only a metal or glass mixing bowl. I like using glass. Separate your eggs into a small bowl first then transfer to the mixing bowl. If your egg whites won’t whip up, somethings gone wrong. Start again.

Brown pavlova

• If your shell turns golden or beige instead of bright white it’s usually because the sugar wasn’t measured properly or your oven was too hot.
• FIX: Once it’s brown it’s brown. It’ll taste a little caramelly but still delicious. Just make sure you measure using scales next time and use an oven thermometer to make sure your oven is on the exact right temperature.