Pavlova Queries

Our answer

The contents of a large egg usually weighs around 60g and is roughly 1/3 yolk and 2/3 white. So one egg white weighs about 40g. This is the same as just over 2 tablespoons. If you check the packaging of the Two Chicks egg whites it states that a 500g carton contains 15 egg whites, which is about 33g per egg, or 2 tablespoons. Nigella's Cappuccino Pavlova (from Nigellissima and on the Nigella website) requires 4 large whites so we would suggest using 160g of egg white. This is the same as 160ml or 2/3 cup. Please note that it is best not to use frozen and thawed carton egg whites for pavlovas as they do not whisk very well.

From the description of the Mini Pavlovas (from Domestic Goddess and on the Nigella website) is possible that the egg whites were whisked too much before the sugar was added. This can cause the cells in the egg white to break down meaning that the meringue will be flat and also sticky as the sugar will weep out as the meringue bakes. The whites should be whisked to firm peaks - meaning that when you lift the whisk the whites stand up in a peak and the very top of the peak just flops over slightly. If the whites start to look dull and a little like cotton wool then they have been whisked too much. We would also suggest using baking parchment (or a slilicone or bake-o-glide liner) rather than greaseproof paper as the meringue is less likely to stick to this.