Pavlova disaster - how can I make it look more presentable?

[PinkCloudDweller]

My pavlova base looks rubbish. I tried to stop it spilling mid-cooking, and now it looks as if one third of it has exploded. Is there any way of disguising it, or do I accept I need to make a new one?

My pavlova disasters becomes eton mess

IT doesn't matter what it looks like as long as it tastes good
Call it an avalanche, pronounced in a faux-French accent, and say you got the recipe from Heston Blumenthal.

Definitely turn it into an Eton Mess.

Do you have lemon curd and double cream? Whip these 2 and add bashed up meringue and freeze for lovely ice cream!

Mine is usually slathered in cream , so no one would know any different here

That's how homemade Pavlova's supposed to look. Lots of cream and fruit and it will be amazing.

Cream. Fruit. Cream. Fruit. Repeat.

That's how homemade Pavlova's supposed to look. Lots of cream and fruit and it will be amazing.

No they're not?

OP - careful reconstruction by cutting away at the wonky sides, and placing these bits on top, then covering in whipped cream should cover the worst. You'll lose the crunchy sides but if you ice it a bit like a cake it will be fine. Next time pile the mixture literally vertical before cooking & make sure your egg whites are a bit stiffer before adding the sugar.

As an aside, I discovered you can't get tinned passionfruit purée in the UK this morning!

Hey, thanks for it out tips! I did do Eton mess with half of it and the other half was scoffed by the kids and their friends.

I'm making another tonight for tomorrow. Any tips? Rubybleu, you say piling the mixture really high helps? I'll try that, as well as getting the whites really stiff before adding any sugar x

This is a fairly reliable recipe:

www.taste.com.au/recipes/pavlova-3/e62d3cc8-a69d-4ae3-8a6d-5226751a274d

The bit about marking a circle on the foil is really helpful.

With no disrespect intended to the BBC, I've never found their versions of Australasian recipes to be very good!

This one works well for me

www.deliaonline.com/recipes/collections/delia-online-cookery-school/strawberry-and-vanilla-pavlova