Why do my pavlovas collapse?

[Millie1]

I'm just about to make one and I know it will have collapsed by the time it has cooled - they always do! They taste nice though and look fine when heaped with cream and fruit, it's just the centre cracks and collapses in.

I use Nigella's recipe - 4 egg whites, sugar, cornflour, vanilla extract plus a little white vinegar. It cooks for around 1-1.5 hrs (can't remember) and then sits in oven overnight.

Any ideas - is it the recipe? Thanks!

Why would you leave it in oven over night?

Errr ... cos Nigella's recipe says to!! . With the oven turned off of-course! Seems to work okay - it collapses before then. Infact, it was well cracked when I knocked the oven off a while ago!

I use delia's recipe - never ever failed and yes, it says to leave in the oven overnight too. Mine have never collapsed and I have made a lot!.

Mummy - this is to dry it out to minimise cracking.

Delia uses cornflour and vinegar - no vanilla extract.

3 large egg whites
6oz caster sugar
1 level tsp cornflour
1/2 tsp vinegar (I just use malt)

Preheat the oven to 150 and then when you put the pavlova in, turn it down to 140 and cook for one hour.

This recipe gives a soft marshmallowy centre. Yummy!

My nana left them in the oven over night with a teatowel in the door to stop it closing & the oven on but on it's lowest setting - so cooked them for about 15 hrs (they went in after tea & came out after breakfast)

Oh I always thought that pavlova is Just glorified meringue ( sacrilege according to Australian dp ) but I guess they are different.

Pretty much the same recipe HellaVita although Nigella cooks hers for 1 1/4 hrs at 150 - I used to do Delia's ... shall try hers next time.

They are collapsing because they are not cooked enough in the middle - only a little bit and they'll be perfect. Try lower heat for longer.

I also swear by all night in the oven and I am reknowned for my pavalovas!

I don't leave meringues in teh oven overnight. Pavlova is just meringue, mummy

Thanks Nancy ... that's really interesting. Next time then I'll use same recipe, lower the heat and give 1 1/2 hrs or thereabouts. Cheers!

Pavlovas are supposed to collapse: they are not supposed to be crisp all the way through like "standard" meringues. That's why the vineager and cornflour is in the recipe - the make the middle soft. No need to do fancy "leaving the oven on/overnight": cook it for an hour and a half and then leave it to cool (in or out of the oven, depending on what else you need to do/how much time you have), simple.

My mum (and I have always followed her example) always turned the pavlova over once it had colled, and used the soft side to put the cream and fruit onto. That way, the outside stayed nice and crisp, but you could the lovely mix of textures: crisp, almost chewy outside of the mreginue, soft, mallow-like inside of the meringue, fruit and billowy mounds of whipped cream :) Yumm!

It deson't look as pretty (but by the time you have mounded it high with fruit and whipped cream, you don't even notice.

My mum's mum was Australian and a great cook, so I'm just following the tradition! :)

prettybird honestly my pavalovas stay soft and marhmallowy in the middle but they don't collapse. There is a short window between collapsed sticky goo and soft fluffy marshmallow.

The keeping in the oven overnight - or at least allowing to cool very slowly prevents the cracking but personally a few cracks on a lovely peaked meringue add to the effect.

Also I have never used cornflour or vinegar - no need of your eggs are room temp and everything else bone dry.

I always use cornflour and vinegar or lemon juice to mix. Makes them very very chewy and gorgeous in teh centre.

I agree re marshmallow goo in the middle - I've got to say that although they collapse, mine are never undercooked. The beauty in the oven at the moment has indeed collapsed but like Prettybread says, by the time it's mounded with cream & fruit, it'll look lovely again. I just find it frustrating!