So you think you can Pav?

Impress the Pav-lovers

Return to 25 days of Christmas

Christmas in Australia ain’t Christmas without a Pav. Whether your a newbie or a connoisseur to this country’s favourite dessert, there are four main tips to remember in order to pull off the ideal Pav.

1. Egg-regation is the key.
Keep your egg whites and yolks apart like opposite genders at a school disco. Even a dash of yolk will destroy your Pav and create an angry army of Pav-less party-goers. By keeping your utensils clean and dry and using room temperature eggs, you’ll be on the path to Pav perfection.

2. Whip it good
Whip your whites for too long and they’ll turn dry, be too crisp and more likely to collapse. Instead, groove slowly with your whisk and pick up the pace once your whites meet sugar.

3. Oh Sugar…
The introduction of sugar is a science in itself. Add the perfect amount, beat it for just the right amount of time, use the correct type of sugar and you’ll be building peaks like the Tian Shan ranges of Kyrgyzstan. Just make sure you add 55 grams of sugar for every egg white used and you’ll be fine.

4. Dry your tears
Believe it or not, meringues are sensitive little flowers that cry at the sight of moisture. So keep your moisture enemy at bay by blocking all paths of attack with your oven door. Once your meringue has finished cooking, turn off the oven and leave it’s door slightly open. This way your meringue will be crisp, your pav perfect, and your Christmas guests’ Pav-less anger averted.

Bonus tip – Take your pav to legendary status. Use little globs of meringue in each corner to fix the baking paper to the tray and rub with some coconut oil to grease it for the ultimate crunch and colour. Dollop the egg whites and form your pav the way you like it (mountainous of course to accommodate the lashings of cream).

Discover more Christmas tips and tricks