There are desserts I like to bake for the sake of baking, rather than eat, and treats I enjoy eating that I don’t bake (like croissants). Then, we have the pavlova which falls into both categories. I love making meringue. It’s so dramatic when the egg whites change to glossy white. As for eating pavlova, it’s texturally fantastic. You get the the crunch and crumble of the meringue, creaminess from the whipped cream and then juicy, sweet-tart fruit.
Now for this pavlova, I got a little fancy with the piping. The design was inspired by a pavlova from Paris chef Cyril Lignac but his petals was more rounded whereas mine turned ended up more of a sunflower. I like that I turned it into something new and my own. You don’t need to pipe if you don’t want to. You can shape the pavlova into a circle with a back of spoon with a well in the middle for the filling and berries. No matter what shape, it will be delicious.