Name: Raspberry Mini Pavlovas
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 55 min
Total time: 140 min
Ingredients: 250 g raspberries (fresh or frozen); ¼ cup of sugar; ½ tbsp amaretto; 300 g icing sugar; ½ tsp corn starch; 6 egg whites; 5 ml lemon juice (around 1 tsp); 1 cup cold heavy cream; 3 tbsp icing sugar; Fresh raspberries; Icing sugar

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Raspberry mini pavlovas are the most romantic dessert: fragile, blushing pink, and quivering with delicious promises.

How could you not fall in love with this gorge dessert?

The recipe for these mini pavlovas with raspberries was developed by Fernanda Iensen, the amazing baker behind Pipa's Bowl, and it was a collaboration in styling & photographing them. I am proud to only work with people and businesses I truly believe in!

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Bring in the romance

I am not one for celebrating Valentine's Day.

This stance comes from the firm belief that if we are in a relationship, and we're lucky enough to actually like the person we're in a relationship with, then we should take every day as an opportunity to celebrate our love and remind the other person that they are precious to us.

And if we're not in a relationship, as I often wasn't, or going through heartbreak, as I often was, then we really don't need a day to remind us of that.

But this year, I feel differently about Valentine's Day.

First off, I don't know about you, but I could really use the reason to actually celebrate something this year. It was a weird ~~year~~ two years, what with the pandemic and all, and there were too few celebrations - or even opportunities to properly celebrate.

Second, having added a little person to the mix definitely changed the balance of my marriage. Most of the time, we are either working or taking care of a little person. And there are too few opportunities to just be in love. Lack of babysitters or date nights a cause of the aforementioned pandemic is also a factor.

So taking all that into account, this year I am all about Valentine's Day.

And what says valentine's day more that a couple of pink raspberry mini pavlovas? Having those pavlovas created by a good friend who just started her own business, that's what!

Business Spotlight: Pipa's Bowl

I met Fernanda of Pipa's Bowl when she first came to Canada.

We were "set up" on a friend date, with the connecting friend saying that she was also a food blogger back in Brazil. We chatted briefly, gushed over each other's photographs (her blog was all in Portuguese, so I couldn't understand a word), and that was basically it.

Fast forward two years, and I was looking for an assistant to work with me on my events. When Fernanda's name came up in the resume pile, I knew right away I just had to work with this girl.

And now, another three years later, I am glad to say it was a match made in heaven.

Fernanda English is soft, with a musical Portuguese accent. Her movements are gentle and precise, whether she is styling a scene, helping a guest or scolding her daughter. And she makes me laugh, puts me in my place, encourages me when I feel down. In short, she's a true friend.

While her blog is no longer active, her new business, Pipa's Bowl, is blowing up in Montreal.

Founded when Fernanda needed a creative outlet and financial support after losing her job due to that aforementioned pandemic, Pipa's Bowl is very much a family operation. All the treats are made by Fernanda, by hand, and delivered by her husband. All the recipes are sampled by her 3-year old daughter, Pipa, after whom the business was made.

And the flavour? Well, there's a reason my husband and sister keep ordering Fernanda's tres leches cake every time she comes to help me with a workshop or photoshoot.

But don't just take my word for it. Once you try these mini pavlovas with raspberries for yourself, you'll know how good her food tastes.

Pipa's Bowl is a small, mom-owned operation in Montreal. They are currently taking orders on Instagram, so DM her if you're around these parts - or follow her for drool-worthy recipes!

Why you are going to fall in love with this mini pavlova recipe

These raspberry individual pavlovas are going to WOW you with their delicate texture and balanced, ethereal taste.

I really think you're going to fall in love with these mini pavlovas! They are:

easy to put together
delicious
so romantic
endlessly customizable
gluten-free
beautiful
can be made in advance
can be made Keto

For more easy desserts:

Ingredients for Raspberry Mini Pavlovas

To these lovely romantic mini pavlovas with raspberries, you need:

Raspberry coulis

250 g raspberries fresh or frozen
¼ cup of sugar
½ tablespoon amaretto

Meringue

300 g icing sugar
½ teaspoon corn starch
6 egg whites
5 ml lemon juice around 1 teaspoon

Whipped cream

1 cup cold heavy cream
3 tablespoon icing sugar

Toppings

Fresh raspberries
Icing sugar

Directions for making individual pavlovas

Prep the ingredients

Assemble all your ingredients. Keep the cream and eggs cold. Set up your standing mixer.

Separate the egg whites from the egg yolks (you can use the egg yolks to make lemon curd). In a medium bowl, whisk together icing sugar and cornstarch.

Preheat the oven to 255F.

Cook the raspberry coulis

Combine the raspberries in a saucepan with the sugar and the Amaretto and heat, stirring, until the raspberries break down and get soft, about 10 minutes.

Keep it in the fridge until you have everything ready to build the pavlovas.

Whip the meringue

Add the egg whites to your electric mixer bowl and whisk on medium speed (4-6) until it reaches a foamy stage. At this stage, you can add the lemon juice. Continue whipping.

When the egg whites are at soft peak stage, lower the speed to medium-low (3), and add the sugar mixed with the cornstarch, 1 - 2 tablespoon at a time. Scrape down the sides of the bowl at least once while adding the sugar. Do not rush this process. This can take about 10 -15 minutes. Continue whipping.

Once all the sugar is added, increase the speed to medium (4), and whisk the egg whites just until the sugar has completely dissolved, and the egg whites are thick and glossy and hold their shape well.

Pipe individual pavlovas on parchment paper

While your egg whites are in the electric mixer, cover your tray with parchment paper. You can draw the size of the pavlova or just do it without a measurement. We recommend a 9cm circle per pavlova, which is the size of a 1-cup ramekin.

Using a clean spoon, scoop the meringue from the bowl and fill the inside of your drawn circles, or shape a circle freehand. Pile the meringue in the middle of the drawn circle - you should end up with a dome.

Using an offset spatula, spread the meringue mix to fill the drawn circle on the parchment paper.

Bake individual pavlovas

Bake the pavlovas for 40-45 minutes. Do not open the oven door during this time.

After 40-45 minutes, open the oven and check if the pavlovas are hard on the outside. If they are, turn off the oven and open the door just a crack. Leave the pavlovas inside the oven to cool around 30 min.

Make chantily cream

In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk the cream and icing sugar until you have a soft chantilly.

Keep it in the fridge until you have everything ready to build the pavlovas.

Top mini pavlovas with chantilly cream and raspberry coulis

Assemble the pavlovas just before serving. Put a generous tablespoon of whipped cream in the center of each meringue. Drizzle generously with raspberry sauce.

Top mini pavlovas with fresh raspberries and sprinkle icing sugar

Top individual pavlovas with a few raspberries each, and finish with icing sugar.

Scaling the recipe

This recipe makes 8 mini pavlovas, each about 9-cm in size. You can easily halve the recipe to make a smaller portion. If looking for a perfect Valentine's Day dessert for two, then make two of these individual pavlovas!

Storage

Kept separately in airtight containers, the individual parts for these mini pavlovas will last up to a week. Meringue is best consumed within two days for the perfect texture, but will be delicious even afterwards. Wrap it in plastic and store in an airtight container if looking to make more than 2 days in advance.

For best results, do not assemble the raspberry mini pavlovas until ready to serve; the pavlovas will lose their crisp when topped with the chantilly cream.

Making in Advance

All the components for these raspberry mini pavlovas can be made in advance. Everything should be kept in the fridge for best results, until ready to serve.

The raspberry coulis can be made up to a week in advance. The chantilly cream can be made a day or two in advance. Finally, the individual meringues themselves can be baked two days in advance for best results. Do not assemble the final mini pavlovas with raspberries until the last minute, though.

Dominant flavors and ingredients

These delicate raspberry pavlovas are flavoured mostly with fresh raspberries, thought there is a touch of lemon in here as well.

When the raspberry flavour joins with the vanilla soft chantilly cream, the resulting mix tastes like a delicate, sweet cloud tinged through with a bolt of faintly sour berries - it's balanced, delicious and most of all, romantic.

If you're not a fan of raspberries, feel free to use any other berries you have on hand. You can even use frozen berries that have been defrosted.

These mini pavlovas would also taste great with my Meyer lemon curd.

Top tips for easily making mini pavlovas with raspberries

These beautiful individual pavlovas make for a gorgeous, romantic dessert, for a Valentine's Day dinner or for a special meal. To make their assembly even more of a breeze, here are my top tips:

Make the meringues and raspberry coulis in advance - they're perfect if made up to two days ahead!
If you don't have fresh berries, don't fret. Frozen berries work just fine
If you don't have berries, spoon your favourite chocolate sauce, dulce de leche or even raspberry jam on top of the chantilly cream.
For a really romantic presentation, shape the mini pavlovas into hearts instead of circles (you can use a cookie cutter and a piping bag to draw and then pipe out the shapes)
If making everything in one day, then start by making preheating the oven, then make the raspberry coulis, then meringues, and while they're baking whip the cream. Easy!

See our mini pavlovas story!

Want to make these beautiful mini pavlovas? Check out our step-by-step mini pavlovas story!

Raspberry Mini Pavlovas Video

Adaptations for raspberry mini pavlovas

These raspberry mini pavlovas are naturally vegetarian, gluten-free and grain-free.

Keto and sugar-free

To make sugar-free keto mini pavlovas, use powdered Erythritol, Xylitol in a 1-to-1 ration, or stevia in a smaller ratio.

Mini pavlova variations:

Mini pavlovas with Meyer Lemon Curd - replace the raspberry coulis for my homemade Meyer Lemon Curd.
Chocolate mini pavlovas - add 1 teaspoon of cocoa powder to the meringue batter. Replace the raspberry coulis with homemade chocolate ganache, or your favourite store-bought chocolate sauce.
Family-sized raspberry pavlova - instead of piping out small, individual pavlovas, just make two large pavlova circles. Layer them for an exquisite layered raspberry pavlova cake.

Equipment

For these raspberry individual pavlovas, you need:

Liquid measuring cups (I like these)
Solids measuring cups (I like these and these)
Measuring spoons (I like these and these)
Parchment paper
Small saucepan (I want this one)
Standing mixer (if you don't have a standing mixer, you can use a hand-held mixer and mixing bowls)

If you're thinking about getting a stand mixer, here are ones I love, from the affordable to the deluxe:

Spatula
Spoons
Baking sheets

Here are some baking sheets I like and use:

Accompanying Dishes

Making a whole romantic dinner to go along with these adorable mini pavlovas? I got you covered! Serve these raspberry individual pavlovas with these dishes, and see how your honey swoons:

When to Serve

I plan on serving these individual pavlovas with raspberries on Valentine's Day.

You can also serve them for any family dinner, as well.

Other romantic desserts

If you're looking for more romantic desserts, try these ones:

Pin for Later!

Recipe

Raspberry Mini Pavlovas

Raspberry mini pavlovas are the most romantic dessert: fragile, blushing pink, and quivering with delicious promises.

5 from 12 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Canadian, North American, Russian

Keyword: chantilly cream, gluten-free, grain-free, meringue, pavlovas, raspberries, valentines day, whipped cream

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 55 minutes

Cooling time: 1 hour

Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes

Servings: people

Calories: 316kcal

Author: Ksenia Prints

Equipment

Liquid measuring cups
Solids measuring cups
Measuring spoons
Parchment paper
Small saucepan
Standing mixer (if you don't have a standing mixer, you can use a hand-held mixer and mixing bowls)
Spatula
Spoons
Baking sheets