Peach Melba Pavlova
a little bit of a face lift on this dessert from the late 1800s
hey hi hello!
We’re back with a lil bit more of that good ‘ole recipe riffin’. Where I take my recipes— my tried & trues and give them a little bit of a flavor facelift to align with the seasons, what’s inspiring me, what’s overflowing or about to go bad in the fridge/pantry and in general what I want to eat right now.
I’ve been testing my base ice cream recipe now for what has felt like a lifetime. I am some how closer and further than I’ve been before to perfection, which I think it’s time I just let go and put forth my best version. WHATEVER. Maybe it’ll be ready by summer of 2027. ANYWAYS, because of this, I’m up to my neck in egg whites and I can only make so much Swiss buttercream now that I’m not baking cakes nearly as often as I used to. But, you know what I can make a ton of and never get tired of? ✮⋆˚°✩Pavlova✮⋆°✩
With stone fruit season fully underway, now is the perfect time to make a peach melba pav.
Let’s get it!
*This post has a few affiliate links, which if you click and purchase from I receive compensation at no additional cost to you. I’m not here to aggressively peddle crap unto you, I still only link products I actually use, test with and enjoy*
PAVLOVA: Now, if you want a deep dive into Pavlova, look no further than this post here from back during the bake club days. Something I love to do to give the meringue a little more depth is torch it the same way I torch my torched swiss buttercream. Except you know, no butter. It adds a nice toasty little something. That’s totally and obviously an optional step. Do what ya want with what ya got- if you have a torch I think it’s something worth trying. I use this Iwatani that I’ve had for years. If you don’t have a torch, just don’t torch the meringue- that’s not a make or break step to this recipe, that’s a free will bit.
NOYAUX CUSTARD: You guys know that during the summer I love love love using noyaux to flavor literally everything, cakes, cream buns, ice creams, if I can infuse it with noyaux I will. So, when I think about a peach melba, which is traditionally peaches and raspberry coulis over vanilla ice cream, it makes sense to infuse the vanilla aspect with noyaux.
Yes, before we go any further noyaux does contain a compound called amygdalin which the body can convert into cyanide when consumed. But, roasting the pits at 350F for 10-15 minutes prior to using neutralizes the compound. Highly recommend reading up on Camille Wynne’s noyaux write up over on Kitchen Projects for more information to quell your worries. As always, do your own research and come to you own conclusions about using ingredients- don’t just take my word for it.
I gather my own noyaux from apricot pits by placing them in a thick kitchen towel and hammering to break the outer shell. Then, I sift through to find the kernels. This is great if you already eat/use tons of apricots during stone fruit season. But, like what if I don’t want to eat 8# of apricot to get enough noyaux for my recipes??? You can buy bags of shelled kernels online but also *usually* at asian markets. I pick up mine from 99 ranch, where you’ll find them labelled as dried almonds.
I infuse the roasted pits into the milk portion of my pastry cream recipe for 45 minutes before straining and continuing on with the recipe as per usual. I also know I’m gonna fold the pastry cream into whipped cream before use so I use all milk instead of a mix of milk and cream- just because I don’t want it to be too rich? The recipe gets scaled down to use the 5 yolks left over from the 5 white pavlova using my scaling sheet. Then, as mentioned two sentences ago I whip up some cream to lighten the pastry cream. I usually do between 50-60% the amount of pastry cream in heavy cream/ heavy cream + mascarpone or sour cream depending on flavor vibe. I whip to stiff peaks before folding into the custard. The pastry cream recipe makes about 500 grams, but I end up using about 350 grams of it for the pavlova. I weigh out what I think I’m gonna need and pour cream accordingly from there. The amount of filling you’ll need is really dictated by personal preference, right I’m a girl who eats desserts as a vehicle for my creamy custards- maybe thats not your vibe though.
RASPBERRY JAM: I mostly make a jam instead of a coulis because 1- I know I’ll use jam again and again on thick cuts of sour dough toast with like a heart stopping amount of butter. 2- straining the seeds out of a raspberry coulis is BOR-ing AND ANNOYING. My golden jam ratio is 100% raspberries, 40-50% sugar and 2% lemon juice, cooked down till jammy. Follow that and you can make as much or as little jam as ya want.
PEACHES: I mean peach melba is the vibe, so the peaches are fresh and sliced. That’s about it. I take this opportunity to use the best peaches to ever grace this earth, fiesta gems from Rieger Family Farms <333 They’re around for about 3 weeks out of the year and are the most peachy peach I’ve ever had AS A CALIFORNIAN WHO HAS NEVER HAD A GEORGIA PEACH OKAY!! I don’t want the south coming for my neck!!
I’ve also been loving the scooped look for my pavlovas lately. To achieve this look I lay down a base of about half the meringue and flatten it out with an offset spatula- then I’ll go in with a red handled cookie scoop to plop meringue balls around the edge of the base. If any meringue is left after that, I’ll place more loose scoops around the empty space on the sheet pan- they’ll bake a little crispier and are great for a topping or to serve up as a little eton mess chef snack! But, ya know shape it how ever you’d like and bake accordingly!
PEACH MELBA PAVLOVA
So ya know, this is a two day process, ya could make it one if you made the fillings first thing in the morning and let them chill a minimum of 4 hours before serving but, the thought of doing that stresses ME out so. Make the custard and jam the day before, then whip the cream fresh for folding and assembly once the pav has cooled.
Tools:
Stand Mixer
Small Offset Spatula
Rubber Spatula
Red Handled Disher (1.75 oz) *optional*
Small Saucepan
Ladle
Small Whisk
Mixing Bowl(s)
Immersion Blender *optional*
Fine Mesh Sieve
Serving Platter
Ingredients:
NOYAUX PASTRY CREAM
365 grams whole milk
25 grams roasted noyaux
1/4 teaspoon diamond crystal kosher salt
100 grams egg yolks, approx 5 large yolks
70 grams granulated sugar
20 grams cornstarch
55 grams butter, cold & cubed
RASPBERRY JAM
340 grams raspberries, fresh or frozen
150 grams granulated sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
TORCHED PAVLOVA
150 grams egg whites, about 5 large whites, room temp
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
130 grams granulated sugar
170 grams powdered sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon diamond crystal kosher salt
*optional* 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste- or really any alcohol/water based flavoring of your choice :)
FOR ASSEMBLY:
2-3 large peaches, sliced
Fresh raspberries *optional*
Directions:
DAY ONE
FOR THE NOYAUX PASTRY CREAM
Place your 365 grams whole milk, and 25 grams roasted noyaux into a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring milk to a simmer for 5 minutes before cutting the heat and allowing the noyaux to steep for about 45 minutes.
Strain the noyaux from the milk. Return the infused milk to the saucepan and add 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt. Bring the milk back up to a simmer over medium heat.
While that heats up, whisk together your 20 grams cornstarch and 70 grams granulated sugar to eliminate any lumps. Add your 100 grams egg yolks and whisk together until a homogenous paste forms. You’'ll really want to aerate this for about a minute.
Once your milk mixture is at a simmer, temper into the yolk mixture. To temper: ladle in a small amount of the hot milk into the yolks, whisking to combine. Add another ladle full and repeat. Do this about 3-4 times before adding the tempered yolk mixture back into the saucepan.
Once tempered add the egg yolk mixture back into the saucepan.
Whisk constantly to avoid scrambling. Continue to whisk until your cream begins to thicken and reaches a soft boil (a few slow popping and thick bubbles will form.)
At this point remove your cream from the heat and strain into your desired container. This is the final frontier to make sure you don’t have any scrambled eggy bits in your cream. Add your 55 grams of butter and immersion blend until smooth. If you don’t have an immersion blender you can use a regular blender or just whisk to combine. The immersion blender though leaves you with the most perfect creamy texture.
Cover directly with plastic wrap. Label and date the container! Store in the fridge a minimum of 6 hours preferably overnight until ready to use.
FOR THE RASPBERRY JAM
Add the 340 grams raspberries, 150 grams granulated sugar,1 tablespoon lemon juice to a small saucepan and stir with rubber spatula.
Place the saucepan over medium heat. In the beginning you won’t have to stir too frequently. As the moisture starts to cook off and the jam thickens, you’ll want to stir more often to prevent burning.
You’ll know the jam is done when the bubbles on the surface pop slower, kinda how a goldfish blows a kiss.
Remove from heat and transfer to a heat safe container. Allow to cool down to about room temp before covering, labelling and storing in the fridge.
DAY TWO
FOR THE TORCHED PAVLOVA- TORCHING SO SO OPTIONAL
Preheat the oven the 225F, no fan.
To the bowl of a stand mixer add the 150 grams egg whites, 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar, and 130 grams granulated sugar. Whip on medium speed until light and doubled in volume.
Sift together the 170 grams powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon cornstarch and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt.
Drop the mixer to low and slowly add in the powdered sugar mixture.
Add in the optional vanilla, or flavoring agent of choice at this point as well if you’re choosing to use one!
After the powdered sugar mixture has fully disappeared into the meringue, turn off the mixer. Carefully torch the top layer of meringue. Turn the mixer on low, mix until the torched meringue layer dips under the surface. Stop the mixer. Repeat torching, mixing and stopping the meringue until you’ve achieved your desired level of torching. For me, this is 12 times.
Turn the mixer back up to high and allow to whip until stiff peaks have formed.
Use a little bit of the meringue in the corners of the baking sheet to help affix the parchment sheet and keep it from sliding around while you shape our pavlova!
Shape the meringue how ever you’d like! Once shaped lightly and carefully torch the outside of the pav before baking- this can also be done post bake!
Bake a tall and thick pavlova for 60-70 minutes. Bake a thinner pavlova or smaller individual pavlovas for 35-45 minutes. You’ll know they’re done when the outer shell of the pavlova is dry and crisp to the touch.
Turn off the oven with the pavlova still inside, allow it to cool down with the oven for a minimum of 1 hour but preferably 3-4 hours.
Once cooled, you can store the pavlova in an airtight container, up to 2 days, until you’re ready to dress it up with fillings. Or wrap the sheet pan well with plastic wrap and throw a dessicant in to keep things dry!
Fill and decorate as close to serving as you can to help the outer shell stay nice n crisp!
TO ASSEMBLE
You’ll whip 50-60% the weight of the amount of pastry cream use in heavy cream to create a creme legere for this filling. Or use the pastry cream straight up if you’d like, just give it a little beating with a spatula to loosen it up. Or use straight up vanilla bean whipped cream, or a mascarpone whipped cream. You can do what ever you want, that is the whole point of this after all. The amount of cream you end up using may vary depending on the size of the cavity you created- if that’s the shape you went with!
175-200 grams heavy cream
350-400 grams of the noyaux pastry cream
Mixing bowl(s)
Pavlova
Raspberry jam
2-3 large peaches, sliced thin
Serving platter
Whip the heavy cream to stiff peaks using a hand or stand mixer.
Fold the whipped cream into the pastry cream 1/3rd at a time.
Slice peaches with a sharp knife into 1/4”-1/2” wedges. Set Aside.
Place the pavlova onto your serving platter.
Fill the cavity with the creme legere.
Dollop a few spoonfuls of raspberry jam over the cream and lightly swirl.
Topped with the sliced peaches.
Serve up and enjoy ♡
🎧WHILE YOU BAKE🎧
Till next time my bake chat baddies ♡
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