In small bowl, whisk 1 1/2 cups sugar with cornstarch; set aside. Place egg whites in a clean, dry, bowl of standing mixer fitted with whip attachment. Beat on medium speed until frothy. Add cream of tartar and salt. Increase speed to medium high and beat to soft peak.

With mixer running, slowly add sugar/cornstarch mixture. Continue to beat to stiff peak, 3 to 5 minutes. Reduce speed to low and add vanilla. Remove bowl from mixer and fold in ground almonds with rubber spatula.

Divide the meringue between the pans and smooth the tops. Sprinkle sliced almonds on top. Bake until the color of the meringues is light beige and the top feels crisp, but the center is still soft, 50 to 60 minutes. Transfer pans to wire rack to cool completely.

While meringues are cooling, toss strawberries with 1 tablespoon sugar. Using mixer fitted with whip attachment, whip cream with remaining tablespoon sugar and remaining teaspoon vanilla on medium speed to soft peak. Keep chilled until ready to assemble.

Run knife along inside edge of pans and carefully invert meringues onto plates. Place one meringue on serving plate, top side up. Spread half of strawberries with juice onto meringue and top with half of the whipped cream.

Place second meringue on top, top with cream, and then strawberries. Dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve immediately.

The meringue base is the easiest part of a pavlova to flavor, but also the most overlooked. Dry spices and small amounts of liquid flavorings work best. Our recipe calls for cream of tartar in the meringue, an acid that makes the foam more stable, but I usually use a little wine vinegar (red or white) or apple cider vinegar for a subtle fruity flavor. Use slightly more vinegar than an equivalent volume of cream of tartar, but not much—three quarters of a teaspoon instead of a half, perhaps.

Rose and orange blossom waters are also ideal, but best used sparingly (one teaspoon at most). Vanilla extract is a given. I’ve also had success adding booze like bourbon, but if you add too much, you may be facing extra mixing time. One meringue with two or three eyeballed shots of bourbon took a full 20 minutes to form, though form it did.

Plain whipped cream, lightly sweetened, makes for a great classic pavlova. But I’ve found plates get cleaned a lot faster if you get a little slutty with your dairy. Here are some template recipes for cinnamon, maple, almond creams, and more. But my favorite chocolate cream for pavlova is dead-simple: a quarter to half cup of good Dutch processed cocoa dissolved in two cups liquid cream, then whisked into a light, airy faux ganache. Alcohol works nicely in whipped cream as well.

If you’ve thought ahead and have some lead time, consider cold-steeping herbs like mint or rosemary in your cream overnight, then remove the herbs and whip the cream the next day. Here are some template recipes for cinnamon, maple, almond creams, and more.  Finely grated citrus zest can go in the cream last-minute, as can most spices. Also consider adding other dairy into your cream: sour cream, crème fraîche, ricotta, and mascarpone are all nice.

Open your oven door as little as possible. Temperature changes causes the meringue to crack, and letting cold air from outside the oven will do just that. If cracks happen, the meringue will still be tasty, but less pretty.
If the pavlova is starting to brown at all, reduce your oven temperature by 25 degrees. The ideal pavlova is totally pale, which usually means a gooey marshmallow interior.
Once your pavlova has finished baking, let it cool completely in the oven to avoid cracking. Ideally you’ll do this with the oven door completely closed, but if you’re in a hurry, bundle up a small wad of paper towel or aluminum foil to leave it slightly ajar.
After baking:

If your meringue cracked, that’s okay! You’re covering it with a quart of whipped cream and a pound of fruit anyway. Messy is delicious.
Let your meringue cool completely before topping. It can be made a day or two in advance if the air isn’t too humid. Don’t add whipped cream and fruit until you’re ready to serve.
If you have leftovers, pack the whole thing up in a tupperware and break up the large chunks of meringue. The next day you’ll have icebox cake.
Do you have any favorite pavlova combinations? Any meringue questions left unanswered? Let loose in the comments.

Sauces and Toppings
All a pavlova really requires is meringue, cream, and fruit, but a little sauce goes a long way. Crunchy textures also keep pavlovas interesting, so think of adding things like pomegranate seeds, toasted nuts, and cracked-up candy brittle. In that strawberry-kumquat pavlova there’s a topping of red wine syrup made from simmering the strawberry soaking wine with the syrup from the macerated kumquats. But you can also opt for ready-made syrups like pomegranate molasses and balsamic vinegar: Their thick texture keeps them clinging to the top of the cream but their tartness lightens up the whole dessert. Syrups like these also give you another way to add tartness to the pavlova if your fruit is low in acidity.

Crunchy textures also keep pavlovas interesting, so think of adding things like pomegranate seeds, toasted nuts, and cracked-up candy brittle. Look for accents that compliment and contrast your fruit: almonds with apricots, pistachios with citrus, pomegranate with apples.

Still having trouble nailing down a pavlova that’s right for you? Here are some of my favorites:

Orange blossom-flavored meringue, chocolate whipped cream, blood orange segments, pomegranate molasses
Rose-flavored meringue with white wine vinegar, plain cream, red wine-soaked strawberries and macerated kumquats
Bourbon meringue, maple cream, sliced assorted plums
Apple cider vinegar meringue, sour cream whipped cream, cubed apples caramelized in butter
As you make your pavlova, it’s worth keeping some basics in mind.

While making the meringue:

Line your baking sheet with parchment paper for easy meringue removal.
If your recipe calls for drawing an X-inch circle on your parchment to guide your meringue formation, don’t bother—presumably you have this circle thing figured out by the time you’re old enough to read blogs.
If you’re using a rimmed baking sheet, flip it upside down and bake the meringue on the other side. Then you can slide the meringue right on to a serving platter without any lip.
Form a shallow crater in the center of the meringue when you put it on the baking sheet. It’ll puff up a little during baking, and the dip with higher sides will form a better cradle for your fruit.
Leave a couple inches breathing room on all sides of your pavlova for expansion in the oven.

Soft layers of meringue sprinkled with crunchy almonds and filled with billows of cream and juicy fresh strawberries.
1 1/2 cups (10 1/2 ounces) plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
2 tablespoons cornstarch
6 large egg whites
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
Pinch salt
4 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
1/2 cup (2 ounces) ground almonds
1/2 cup (1 1/2 ounces) sliced almonds
2 pints strawberries, washed, sliced
1 pint heavy cream
Confectioners’ sugar to dust cake
Directions
Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 285°F. Grease and sugar the sides of two 9-inch cake pans. Line the bottoms with parchment paper.

In small bowl, whisk 1 1/2 cups sugar with cornstarch; set aside. Place egg whites in a clean, dry, bowl of standing mixer fitted with whip attachment. Beat on medium speed until frothy. Add cream of tartar and salt. Increase speed to medium high and beat to soft peak.

With mixer running, slowly add sugar/cornstarch mixture. Continue to beat to stiff peak, 3 to 5 minutes. Reduce speed to low and add vanilla. Remove bowl from mixer and fold in ground almonds with rubber spatula.

Since New Zealand is in the southern hemisphere, their harvest occurs six months earlier than it happens in vineyards in, say, California. So if you’re shopping in September, you may notice that they’re already selling this year’s wines!

Easy Access
It is very common to find wines from New Zealand sold with screwcaps, also known as Stelvin closures. In fact, about 95% of all New Zealand wine is sealed this way. Why would a producer shy away from cork? The answer is 2,4,6-trichloroanisole, or TCA for short. Often transferred to wine through cork closures, this compound imparts aromas and flavors of wet cardboard and musty basement. Not too appetizing, right? The screw cap closure ensures that winemakers aren’t literally pouring their hard work down the drain.

Along with Australia, New Zealand has been a leader in the adoption of screw caps for wines at all price points. Yep—even the fancy stuff from New Zealand will likely not require a corkscrew.

Spoon in a bowl of Watermelon Sorbet topped with fresh strawberries and watermelon chunks
Strawberry Watermelon Sorbet (5 Minutes)
5-minute watermelon sorbet made in a blender with nothing but ripe summer fruit and a splash of almond milk. This unbelievably refreshing sorbet tastes like cotton candy.
AuthorMinimalist Baker
Using a spoon to create texture on a bowl of Strawberry Watermelon Sorbet
PREP TIME
5 minutes
TOTAL TIME
5 minutes
Servings
2
(Servings)
CourseDessert
CuisineGluten-Free, Vegan
Freezer Friendly2 Weeks
Ingredients
US Customary – Metric
2 cups cubed frozen watermelon (ripe // seeds removed)
1 cup sliced frozen strawberries (ripe, organic when possible)
1 cup sliced frozen bananas (ripe and spotty)
1/4-1/2 cup almond milk, coconut milk, or coconut water (each provides a unique flavor and texture)
Instructions
If you haven’t already frozen your fruit, ensure it’s nice and ripe and juicy (the sweeter, the better) then slice and freeze on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Freeze overnight or for at least 4-6 hours or until firm like ice. (Note: Prep time does not include this step.)
To a high-speed blender (or food processor) add frozen watermelon, frozen strawberries, and frozen banana. Top with the lesser amount of dairy-free milk of choice or coconut water.

How to Make Watermelon Sorbet
Once the fruit is frozen, there are just 5 minutes, 4 ingredients, and a blender between you and watermelon sorbet.

Simply add frozen watermelon, strawberries, and banana to a high-speed blender (or food processor) along with a little bit of almond milk, coconut milk, or coconut water. There’s no ice cream maker required here!

Then blend it up, using the tamper to help if the mixture gets stuck or has trouble blending. More liquid can also be added to help it along, but it’s important to avoid adding too much or the sorbet can get too liquidy.

If it’s still having trouble blending, you can try letting the fruit thaw slightly in the blender before resuming.

Making watermelon sorbet in a blender
We hope you LOVE this strawberry watermelon sorbet! It’s:

Fruity
Creamy
Naturally sweet
Berry-infused
Delicious
& Tastes like cotton candy!

It makes the perfect refreshing summer snack or healthier dessert! Enjoy right away, or freeze for more of an ice cream effect. Swoon!

More Ice Cream & Sorbet Recipes
Raspberry Coconut Mango Sorbet
Easy Banana Ice Cream
Vanilla Bean Coconut Ice Cream
Raspberry Ripple Ice Cream
If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #minimalistbaker on Instagram. Cheers, friends!

While daydreaming about watermelon sorbet recently, I threw a few things in the blender hoping for an easier, quicker method, and the results were shockingly good. So good we went back for seconds…and thirds.

This near-instant sorbet is made with simple frozen fruit, like strawberry, watermelon, and banana, and dairy-free milk or coconut water. The texture is creamy, slightly icy, and refreshing, and the taste? It’s somehow reminiscent of cotton candy. Let us show you how it’s done!

Bananas, strawberries, watermelon, and almond milk
First, freeze the fruit (or buy already frozen, if available).

How to Freeze Watermelon
While it’s easy to find frozen strawberries at the store, it’s unlikely you’ll find frozen watermelon. Luckily, it’s super simple to do at home.

Start by cutting a watermelon into cubes or scooping into balls (make sure it’s juicy and ripe for best flavor).

Then add the cubes or balls in a single layer to a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze for at least 4 to 6 hours or until firm. Once frozen, transfer the watermelon cubes to a sealed container or use immediately.