Pavlova topped with raspberries and strawberries

Pavlova is a favourite dessert with lots of potential.  

The crispy meringue crust with pillowy marshmallow inner plays the perfect host to cream and fruit and can be easily adapted to be topped with whatever seasonal fruit floats your fancy.

In summer and over the festive season, perfect red berries are a superb topping, and dusting the whole lot with freeze-dried raspberry powder adds a dash of fancy romanticism to your pav.

This pavlova would be exceptional with any red berries, including ripe cherries and red currants, raspberries and juicy strawberries. Go for any combination of these and you will not be disappointed.

Tips and tricks for making the perfect pavlova:

• The easiest way to separate eggs: Room temperature egg whites whip up a lot better than fridge-cold ones, but are harder to separate cleanly from the yolk. To make this easier, separate your egg whites straight from the fridge and allow them to come to room temperature after they've been separated. I do this the morning that I'm going to make the pavlova, planning to whip and bake the pav later that afternoon. Do not allow even the smallest smidgen of yolk in with your whites, they will not whip the way you want them to.
• Weigh your egg whites for best results: I strongly recommend weighing your egg whites out, as all eggs are different in size. While six egg whites from small eggs might weigh 100g, six egg whites from large eggs might be closer to 240g, so they will get very different results.
• When whisking egg whites, it's important to have a devilishly clean and dry bowl: Same goes for the whisk attachment for your mixer or electric beaters. Any grease or oily residue will limit the amount of volume you get out of your whites.
• Prepare your pavlova the day before you want to serve it. You will bake it and leave it in the oven overnight (without opening the door) to cool completely. The next day you can top it and serve it.
• Saving a pavlova if it cracks in the oven: If you get enormous cracks in your pavlova in the first 15 minutes of the bake, the oven is too hot, drop it down another 20 degrees. The cracks sometimes close up a bit as it cools.
• Disguise pavlova cracks with cream. Pavlovas do often crack — and sometimes you are better off accepting this than fighting it. Cracks can form for a range of reasons, the initial oven temperature was too hot, air bubbles escaping from the pav too quickly during the initial heat, over whipping of egg whites, under dissolving of sugars. Sometimes you can get away without a crack, and if you do, take it in your stride, but at the end of the day it's best to just accept it as a common occurrence and fill it up with cream, top it with fruit and enjoy it.
• Keep pavlova (once completely cooled in oven) at room temperature in an airtight container until you're ready to decorate. If you have leftovers of a topped pav, keep in the fridge. You will get seeping and wetness in the fridge, so best idea is to eat it all and not have any leftovers after it's been topped.