These blush pink mini pavlovas have a delicate floral flavour complimented by a rich and creamy mascarpone cream filling. This is romance on a plate. Add an exotic flair to your high tea or serve as a dessert for a special meal.

I've drizzled these with a cheat's rose syrup. It's a doddle to make compared to the traditional way of boiling up rose petals. So, if you don't have a million roses in your garden to sacrifice to a syrup, read on on how to make these mini pavlovas with rose and mascarpone cream.

For other pink-hued desserts, try this easy marshmallow fridge tart, easy coconut ice or this blush pink strawberry lassi.

this recipe

Why make this recipe?

1. It's something a bit unique to serve with tea, or as a pudding
2. It works great for a romantic theme, or an event like a girl's baby shower
3. It's rather easy to make. Pavlovas are not as tricky to pull off as people might fear

What do I need to make these mini pavlovas?

Ingredients:

1. Egg whites: This is based on four large eggs. Top tip, even though the egg whites will whip easier at room temperature, they do separate easier when cold from the fridge. Separate the eggs whilst cold and leave outside for about 20 minutes to warm up slightly before whipping.
2. Sugars: Castor sugar, or otherwise known as super fine sugar in the US. You can easily make your own by blitzing normal granulated sugar in a food processer until fine, but not as fine as icing sugar. We will also need icing/confectioner's sugar to sweeten the mascarpone cream.
3. Rose water: I like to use Nielsen-Massey rose water, but you can use whichever brand is available to you. Rose water can usually be found in the baking aisle, or in most health shops
4. Corn flour and white wine vinegar: We add these to the meringue to strengthen the egg whites, make it more stable and help get that marshmallowy centre you'd expect from a pavlova
5. Gel food colour: You only need the tiniest amount to get quite an intense colour with colour gels. With normal liquid food colouring you might be adding too much moisture to the meringue and this could affect the consistency. Do be careful when adding the gel colour. You don't want to overdo it and end up with an unnatural looking pavlova. I find that dipping a toothpick into the gel colour pot and adding just that bit of colour on the tip to the meringue, is a good starting point. You can always add more, but you can't take it away.
6. Double cream: Or 'heavy' cream
7. Mascarpone cheese
8. Vanilla extract

Tools:

1. Stand mixer or hand mixer
2. Baking sheet
3. Baking paper
4. Small sauce pan
5. Metal spoon

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How to make this recipe - Quick summary:

Step 1: Whisk the egg whites to soft peak stage and start adding the castor sugar, one spoonful at a time. Beat until you have a thick, glossy mixture. With a large metal spoon, fold in the cornflour and white wine vinegar

Step 2: Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with a sheet of baking paper. Draw circles onto the paper of about 6-7cm in diameter. Spoon or pipe the meringue mixture into the circles and pile them as high as you can, about 3 inches/7-8cm. Make a slight hollow in the top of each meringue mound. This will serve as a small 'bowl' for the filling later. Bake for 1 hour. Switch the oven off and let is cool inside, without opening the door, for another 3 hours.

Step 3: Prepare the mascarpone cream by whipping the cream together with the icing sugar and vanilla until firm peaks. Add the mascarpone and whip until thick and velvety. Keep in the fridge until needed.

Step 4: For the cheat's rose water, add the water along with the sugar to a small saucepan. Heat up and keep swirling the pan until it starts to look syrupy. Add the food colouring and the rose water. Have a taste and add more rose water if you'd like it stronger. Pour into a small bowl or jar and keep in the fridge until needed.

Step 5: Assemble the pavlovas by scooping the mascarpone cream on top of each pavlova. Drizzle with the cheat's rose water syrup.

Expert tips:

1. If you have meringue left after piping six nests, why not pipe a few small meringue rosettes to add on top of your cream for decoration.
2. After the meringue has been whipped to thick glossy peaks, don't hesitate too long before getting them in the oven as they might start to droop.

How to decorate your mini pavlovas with rose and mascarpone cream:

1. The sky's the limit! Make some crystallised rose petals and scatter those on top. You can also use fresh rose petals. You will need to use organic roses from your garden, or from a kind neighbour. The roses from the shop would have been treated with pesticides and therefore not safe to eat. Yes, you can eat rose petals!
2. Leave them plain, just with the rose syrup, or you can even leave the rose syrup out completely too
3. Scatter some chopped pistachios on top - the green nuts compliment the pink pavlovas beautifully

Storage suggestions:

1. Once you have assembled the pavlovas with the mascarpone cream, they need to be eaten within 2 hours. Leaving it for longer might cause the pavlovas to get soggy. For ultimate results, assemble just before serving.
2. Undecorated pavlovas will keep well for up to two weeks in an airtight container, or for up to a month in the freezer.

Recipe:

FAQ:

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