Pavlova Bombs

Pavlova Bombs are mini pavlovas balls filled with lemon curd, raspberry coulis and whipped cream. They look so innocent when placed before you – then they explode with colourful fillings when you smash into them! Shockingly easy – just poke a hole in the base, and fill. 🙂

What Pavlova Bombs taste like

Entertainment factor aside, the flavour and texture combination here is stellar. You’ve got the sugary meringue shell and marshmallow insides, then fruity berry tartness from the Raspberry Coulis and silky-smooth custardy tang from the lemon curd. Plus, whipped cream of course!!! Is it really a Pav without whipped cream??

You can fill it with anything that can be poured or stuffed inside: passionfruit pulp, mango puree, chopped berries, chocolate syrup, salted caramel… CAN YOU IMAGINE!

As impressive as they look, they are surprisingly straightforward to make. You just shape the pavlova into a dome shape, punch a hole in the base and fill using a piping bag or just pour in the hole. Then plug the hole with cream, invert, and serve!

Ingredients for Pavlova Bombs

The Pavlova Bomb shells need to be started at least 5 hours before serving as they require 1 1/2 hours in the oven then 3 hours to cool in the turned off oven (to fully dry out and set). I typically make them the night before then leave them in the oven overnight while I sleep, then store in an airtight container until required.

1. Ingredients for pavlova bombs

Here’s all you need to make the Pavlova Bombs shell:

• Egg whites – We need 80ml / 1/3 cup of egg whites which is approximately 3 to 4 large eggs. Using the right amount for Pavs really matters, given it is the key ingredient, so we need to measure rather than relying on “3 eggs”. Unfortunately chickens are extremely selfish and they don’t lay exactly the same size eggs every time. The nerve!! 🤣

• Caster sugar (superfine sugar) – This is finer grains than regular white sugar so it dissolves more easily. Usually I say it’s ok to use regular white sugar but for pavs, I highly recommend using caster sugar because if the sugar doesn’t dissolve fully, you end up with sugar crystals on the edges.

• Cornflour (cornstarch) and vinegar helps make the pavlova more structurally stable and strong so it won’t crack or collapse which is a common problem with a large traditional pavlova. Though less of a risk with mini ones, why risk it when we can take this easy precautionary measure? 🙂

* Sweetness note – The recipe uses 125g sugar (2/3 cup) for 3 egg whites, which serves 5. It may sound like a lot, but please don’t reduce it. Pavlovas and meringues need enough sugar to bake into a dry, crisp shell. Reduce it and the shell becomes fragile and prone to weeping. I’ve tested this extensively and this is the minimum amount that works. Pavs are sweet, but because they’re light and served with fruit and barely-sweetened cream, they never feel heavy.

2. pavlova bomb fillings

I filled these Pavlova Bombs with Lemon Curd and Rasberry Coulis, both of which balance the sugary shell with tang and berry brightness and bring traditional Pav fruitiness to this dish. Plus cream, of course! It is not a Pavlova without the presence of cream!

I’ve written up the Lemon Curd and Raspberry Coulis recipes in separate posts because they are things you’ll use far beyond this recipe. The coulis recipe also includes my cheeky shortcut coulis which I make using jam thinned with lemon juice. Because I don’t always have raspberries but I always have jam! 🙂