A Christmas wreath pavlova is the perfect make-ahead dessert for your Christmas dinner. It tastes fruity, is crunchy on the outside, but soft and fluffy on the inside. Best of all, it is gluten-free and the base can be prepared 2 days in advance.
Kenwood Ireland has kindly gifted me a brand new Kmix in order to create this lovely Christmas dessert recipe for you. I received a black one, which I love, it just looks so beautiful and blends in so well with all my other appliances. It is also available in cream, white and red to match any kitchen.
The Kmix comes with accompanying bowl tools, K-Beater, whisk and dough hook, which allows you to create flavoured breads, stylish cakes and enticing pavlovas with ease. Also, there are over 20 additional attachments available, so whether you want to make your own pasta or mince your own meat, you can get creative in the kitchen.
Pavlova’s aren’t a common dessert in Germany, but I have tasted many since I moved to Ireland and always liked them. Since I had never made a pavlova myself I was dying to start testing recipes and of course, the Kenwood Kmix.
What I like about pavlovas is that they are much lighter compared to other traditional Christmas desserts. In this recipe, I have used xylitol because it has 40% fewer calories than regular sugar, but you can use caster sugar as well. It is Christmas after all, isn’t it?
How to make a Pavlova step by step
Meringue Base
- First, preheat your oven to 140 °C.
- Get a grease-free bowl to whisk your egg whites in or they won’t fluff up. If you use a stand mixer like the Kenwood Kmix, start on high speed until the egg whites become firm. Then add a tablespoon of xylitol or sugar at a time and keep mixing until it is completely dissolved. You can test it by rubbing a bit of the mixture between your fingers. If you feel some grittiness, keep mixing, you want the egg whites to be firm and glossy.
- Line a baking tray with baking paper and draw a circle around a small bowl onto it. Keep in mind that the meringue will expand in the oven.
- Spoon the mixture in little heaps along the circle and level out the top with the back of a spoon to create more surface area for your toppings.
- Bake it for 50-60 minutes and let it cool in the oven. Don’t open the oven door at any stage or your meringue might collapse from the draft.
How to make Raspberry Coulis
- While the meringue is cooling, you can prepare the raspberry coulis by roughly mashing the raspberries and then pushing them through a fine sieve with the back of a tablespoon. To sweeten and thicken the coulis add either 2 tablespoons of ground xylitol (you can grind xylitol by pulsing it in a highspeed blender) or regular icing sugar.
- Refrigerate the coulis until you assemble, you can prepare it one day in advance if you wish.
Pavlova Toppings
- Once the meringue has fully cooled, whisk the double cream until it’s creating soft peaks. Again, I used my new Kmix for this at high-speed, it works so quick and effortless and through the 5-litre glass bowl, you can see exactly when it starts firming up. You don’t want to over whisk the cream, it should still be easily spreadable.
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- Spread the whipped cream on top of the meringue base, decorate with fresh raspberries, mint leaves and finish off with a drizzle of raspberry coulis and serve immediately.
What a great and easy dessert after a decadent Christmas meal. You simply can’t go wrong with this Christmas Wreath Pavlova Recipe, everyone loves a good pavlova, right?
If you have got vegan family members or friends coming over for Christmas you could also check out my Magical Vegan Gingerbread Mousse or Healthier Vegan Mince Pies recipes!
Your turn
I would love to find out more about your Christmas traditions, what do you serve for Christmas dinner? I’m looking forward to reading your stories in the comments.
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Christmas Wreath Pavlova
Ingredients
Meringue
- 4 egg whites
- 1 cup xylitol or caster sugar
Raspberry Coulis
- 1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries
- 4 tablespoons ground xylitol or icing sugar
Toppings
- 1 1/4 cup double cream
- 2 tablespoons ground xylitol or icing sugar
- 2 1/4 cups fresh raspberries
- 2 sprigs fresh mint
Instructions
Meringue
- In a grease-free bowl, beat your egg whites on high speed until firm, then reduce the speed and slowly add the xylitol one tablespoon at a time (make sure to keep mixing in between each addition). Mix until the xylitol or sugar has completely dissolved. I used my Kenwood Kmix for this task, it makes it quick and easy. You can test if the sugar has dissolved by rubbing a bit of the mixture between your fingers and look for grittiness.
- Line a baking sheet with baking paper and draw a circle around a small bowl onto the paper. Use this line as guidance to get a perfectly round shape. Now spoon the beaten egg whites in little heaps along the line and flatten out the top with the back of a spoon to get a bigger surface area for your toppings.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes, turn off the oven and let it cool inside the oven.
Raspberry Coulis
- Roughly mash the raspberries and then push them with the back of a spoon through a fine-meshed sieve. Stir in 2 tablespoons of either ground xylitol (simply blend regular xylitol in a highspeed blender) or icing sugar.
Toppings
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the double cream until it's firm, then slowly mix in the icing sugar. I used a Kenwood Kmix at full speed for this task, it makes it so quick and easy.
- Spread the whipped cream on top of the baked Christmas wreath pavlova and decorate with fresh raspberries and mint.Enjoy straight away.
