Meringue Base For Cappuccino Pavlova

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Nigella's Cappuccino Pavlova (from NIGELLISSIMA) has a meringue base that is flavoured with coffee. A mixture of espresso powder and sugar is whisked into the egg whites to achieve this. There can be a few reasons why a meringue may liquefy when being made, and the most common is that the egg whites have come into contact with some grease (usually on the bowl or whisk) or were not whisked enough or too much before the sugar was added.

Check that the bowl and whisk are completely clean (it can help to wipe them with a little lemon juice before adding the egg whites) and try to use a metal or glass bowl as grease can cling to a plastic bowl. Whisk the whites until they reach peaks that slightly flop over at the very top when you lift the whisk, this is soft peak stage. If the whites are whisked too far and look like a little lumpy or like cotton wool then they may also turn liquid. If the espresso powder is slightly damp then this can also turn the whites liquid, so make sure that it is dry and free-flowing, and not clumped together.