A stunning Christmas dessert wreath made from mini pavlovas, fresh fruit & decadent sauces, served with freshly whipped cream.
For me, the best thing about Christmas is spending quality time with the people I love... while eating yummy food! To ensure I spend more time eating and less time cooking on Christmas day, I've come up with a genius dessert. My make-ahead, Christmas Mini Pavlova Wreath.
Look how beautiful it is! As you spend this special day together, your family and friends will be super impressed by this dessert. And the best part is, you can make it up to four days before you serve it!
I prepared all the separate components on Christmas Eve and stored them in airtight containers.
How to make Christmas Mini Pavlova wreath:
The first step is making the mini pavlovas. Preheat the oven to 170°C fanbake and line two trays with baking paper. Add the egg whites to the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk on high until stiff peaks form. Add vanilla and vinegar then whisk again on a slow speed. Turn speed up to medium and gradually add the caster sugar, whisking until stiff and glossy.
Spoon 10 rounds of meringue onto each baking tray. Reduce the oven to 120°C and bake for 40 minutes or until crisp to the touch. Turn the oven off, open the door ajar and leave the mini pavs until they have cooled completely. Once cooled, store in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the pantry.
Next, add the frozen raspberries and caster sugar to a glass container and microwave on high for 1 minute. Stir, then microwave for another 20 seconds. Stir again, set aside to cool then store in the fridge until ready to use.
To make the chocolate sauce, break the chocolate into a heatproof bowl. Pour in 200ml cream and microwave for 90 seconds. Leave the warm cream and chocolate to sit for 2 minutes then stir until smooth. Store in the fridge until ready to serve. You may have to heat it slightly before serving.
On a large platter arrange the wreath. Start with ramekins of chocolate ganache, raspberry sauce and passionfruit curd. Add the mini pavlovas in a circular pattern. Fill in all of the gaps with the fresh fruit. Sprinkle over icing sugar and finish off with mint leaves and crumbled pieces of chocolate flake. Serve whipped cream in bowls next to the platter.
I love Christmas! Did you know I have a whole page on my website dedicated to CHRISTMAS RECIPES? It includes my famous Mango Pavlova, my Cranberry Glazed Ham, my epic Brownie Trifle and many more delicious recipes. Be sure to check it out before planning your Christmas Day menu.
If you love mini pavlovas, check out my amazing Mini Tropical Pavlovas made with fresh mango and passionfruit.
Mini Tropical Pavlovas
Common questions about Christmas mini pavlova wreath:
How big is that wooden board?! This cheese platter is a whopping 60 cm in diameter! It is an up-cycled wine barrel lid. If you are looking for something similar you can check out some options here and here. But a smaller board, 40- 50 cm in diameter will also work.
How long will the mini pavlovas keep for? These pavlovas will keep well, in an airtight container in the pantry, for up to four days.
What other fruit could I use? Feel free to use your favourite fruit! Cherries would be great on Christmas day. You could also make a tropical fruit, mini pavlova wreath with melons, pineapple and coconut chips. This recipe is very versatile!
How can I save more time? You could always use pre-made sauces or even store-bought meringues/mini pavlovas if you're short on time.
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Christmas Mini Pavlova Wreath
A stunning Christmas wreath dessert made from mini pavlovas, fresh fruit and decadent sauces.
Ingredients
MINI PAVLOVAS
- 4 egg whites
- 1 cup caster sugar (200g)
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 1 tsp white vinegar
RASPBERRY SAUCE
- 1 cup frozen raspberries
- 1 Tbsp caster sugar
CHOCOLATE GANACHE
- 120g dark chocolate
- 200ml cream
TO SERVE
- 60g passionfruit curd
- 125g fresh raspberries
- 250g strawberries
- 1 Mango, sliced
- 3 Kiwifruit, sliced
- 125g blueberries
- 125 pomegranate seeds
- 1 Tbsp icing sugar
- 1 Tbsp fresh mint leaves
- 1 flake bar 30g
- 500ml cream, whipped
Instructions
- Mini Pavlovas: Preheat oven to 170ºC fanbake and line two trays with non-stick baking paper.
- Add egg whites to the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk on high speed until stiff peaks form. Add vanilla essence and vinegar then whisk again on a slow speed. Turn speed up to medium and gradually add the caster sugar. Whisk on high for 5 minutes or until stiff and glossy.
- Spoon 10 rounds of meringue onto each baking tray. Reduce the oven temperature to 120°C and bake for 40 minutes or until crisp to the touch.
- Turn off the oven and cool the mini pavlovas completely with the door ajar. Once cool store in an airtight container in the pantry for up to 4 days.
- Raspberry sauce: Add frozen raspberries and caster sugar to a glass container, microwave on high for 1 minute then stir. Microwave for another 20 seconds then stir again. Set aside to cool then store in the fridge until ready to serve.
- Chocolate ganache: Break up chocolate into a heatproof bowl, pour in 200ml cream and microwave for 90 seconds. Leave warm cream and chocolate to sit for 2 minutes then stir until smooth. Store in the fridge until ready to serve. You may have to heat it slightly before serving.
- To serve: On a large platter arrange the wreath. Start with ramekins of chocolate ganache, raspberry sauce and passionfruit curd. Add the mini pavlovas in a circular pattern. Fill in all of the gaps with the fresh fruit. Sprinkle over icing sugar and finish off with mint leaves and crumbled pieces of chocolate flake. Serve whipped cream in bowls next to the platter.
Notes
- The mini pavlovas, chocolate ganache and raspberry sauce can be made up to 4 days ahead of time and stored in an airtight container. You can even slice up the mango and kiwifruit to save you time on Christmas day.
- Feel free to add or swap your favourite fruit such as cherries, pineapple, melon or grapes.
Nutrition Information:
Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 550
Nutritional values are approximate. Please use your own calculations if you require a special diet.
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Janet
Looks amazing, can’t wait to make this for Christmas. Can you please tell me the diameter of the board you put it on? Thx.
VJ cooks
Hi Janet, this board was made from the top of a wine barrel so is a whopping 60cm in diameter! But you could easily make it on a smaller one.