This stacked pavlova cake has layers of perfect pavlova, tangy and creamy lemon passion fruit curd, and fluffy whipped mascarpone cream. The pavlova layers have a crisp exterior with a melt in your mouth, soft interior. Piled with berries on top, it really is the perfect summer cake. Stacked pavlovas are much easier to make than a more classic giant pavlova. They're less likely to collapse and crack in the oven, and require less baking time. Plus, it's such a beautiful pavlova cake and a fun twist on a classic!
Jump to:
- 🥚 Why you'll LOVE this recipe
- 📝 Key ingredients
- 👩🍳 How to make berry pavlova layered cake
- Pavlova layers step by step
- Lemon passion fruit curd step by step
- Whipped cream and assembly step by step
- ✔️ Expert pavlova tips
- 🥄 Make ahead and storage
- ❔ Various flavors of curd filling
- 📖 Recipe FAQs
- 🍓 More related recipes
- 📖 Recipe
- 💬 Comments
🥚 Why you'll LOVE this recipe
- Easy Pavlova: A stacked pavlova is more foolproof than a traditional large one, as it is much easier to bake and is less likely to collapse and deflate.
- Lemon passion fruit curd: No egg yolks went to waste -they're used to make the most thick and luxurious, tangy lemon curd with a touch of passion fruit flavor that's the perfect pavlova cake filling.
- Mascarpone whipped cream: A stabilized, ultra creamy whipped cream with vanilla specks is the perfect pairing.
📝 Key ingredients
Read through for all the tips you will need for success!
Full steps and ingredients in recipe card below.
Eggs: You will need the whites for the pavlova and the yolks for the curd. Six whole large eggs are used for this recipe.
Granulated sugar: used a slightly finer granulated sugar for the meringue, allowing it to dissolve faster. If your sugar is quite coarse, I recommend blending it in a food processor to make it a little finer.
Cream of tartar: This is an acid that helps stabilize the meringue structure, ensuring that it whips up to stiff peaks and doesn't collapse. You could use white vinegar or even lemon juice instead, but I find that cream of tartar works the best.
Cornstarch: A touch of cornstarch helps absorb excess moisture and sets the meringue into a beautiful pillowlike texture during baking. It's an aide that ensures the best crisp on the outside, pillow soft on the inside pavlova that won't deflate.
Lemon juice: You will need freshly squeezed lemon juice for the curd. I didn't add lemon zest, because I didn't want too strong of a lemon flavor as that would overpower the passion fruit flavor.
Passion fruit: One fresh passion fruit in the lemon curd adds the perfect amount of flavor and gives the pavlova little bit of extra crunch from the seeds.
White chocolate: I added a bar of white chocolate into the lemon curd for extra sweetness, creaminess, and a thicker curd. You don't really taste it but it just transforms the curd into something more luxurious.
Heavy whipping cream: 35% whipping cream whips up like a dream. Just make sure that it's cold right out of the fridge.
Mascarpone cheese: This helps stabilize the whipped cream and gives it a more luxurious mouthfeel.
Vanilla bean paste: For the little flecks and a stronger vanilla flavor in the whipped cream.
👩🍳 How to make berry pavlova layered cake
Pavlova layers step by step
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 340°F (170°C). Find a plate or cake pan that is about 6 to 7 inches in diameter. Trace three circles onto parchment paper with a pencil and flip the parchment paper over. Place the parchment paper onto baking sheets.
Step 2: Separate the eggs, being very careful not to get any yolk into the whites. Place the whites into a clean and dry bowl of a stand mixer.
Step 3: Add cream of tartar to the egg whites and whip on medium-high speed with a whisk attachment. After about 30 seconds, gradually add the sugar, about one tablespoon at a time, while the mixer is running.
Step 4: Keep whipping until the mixture reaches stiff peaks. If you pull the whisk out, the meringue will hold its shape firmly. This will take about 10 minutes. When you rub the mixture between your fingers, it should feel smooth, not gritty.
Step 5: Add the vanilla extract and mix on low briefly. Then, sprinkle cornstarch on top and fold it in gently with a spatula. Don't mix too long or it will deflate!
Step 6: Scoop the meringue into the middles of the three traced circles on the parchment paper. Then, gently smooth out the tops and sides into even layers, using the circles as guides. The layers will spread by about half an inch so leave room.
Step 7: Place the baking sheets into the oven. close the oven door and reduce the temperature to 115°C (240°F). Bake for one hour. Don't open the oven door! Then turn the oven off and let the pavlova cool inside the oven. You can let it cool overnight like I did. Or let it cool for about one to two hours. While it bakes, I make the curd.
Lemon passion fruit curd step by step
Step 1: Combine the egg yolks and sugar in a medium saucepan. Stir together.
Step 2: Add lemon juice and scoop out the insides of one passion fruit into the sauce pan. Heat on low heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture boils and thickens.
Step 3: Immediately remove the curd from the heat and add chopped white chocolate and butter. Stir together until combined and melted.
Step 4: Transfer into a container and refrigerate until cold.
Whipped cream and assembly step by step
Step 1: On the day of assembly, whip the cream and sugar to medium peaks in a large bowl with a whisk attachment.
Step 2: Add mascarpone cheese, vanilla paste, and salt. Whip to stiff peaks.
Step 3: Carefully peel off the pavlova disks off the parchment paper. Place a small dollop of cream onto a large cake plate or cake stand. Place the first pavlova layer down. Add half of the chilled curd on top and spread it to the edges.
Step 4: Then add one third of the whipped cream and spread it evenly. Repeat until the last pavlova disk. Place it gently on top and pile the rest of the cream on top.
Step 5: Decorate with berries. Slice and serve! This lemon curd pavlova cake can be quite messy to slice so I recommend slicing and serving the whole cake at once, if you can. To make it easier to slice, pop the cake into the freezer for an hour or two, this will help it keep its shape.
✔️ Expert pavlova tips
- Ensure that the bowl and whisk for the meringue is squeaky clean and bone dry. This will make sure the meringue whips up perfectly.
- Separate the eggs very carefully to prevent getting any yolks in the whites. Yolks will prevent the meringue from whipping up to perfect, stiff peaks.
- Carefully add the vanilla and cornstarch into the meringue. Gently fold and mix to prevent it from deflating.
- Don't open the oven while the stacked pavlova bakes. This will help prevent cracking and deflating.
- Stir the curd frequently as it cooks to prevent lumps and burning
🥄 Make ahead and storage
Pavlova layers: I prefer making these the night before and just letting the layers hang out in the oven until I'm ready to use them. You can also make them the day of, just make sure they have plenty of time to bake and cool. I like to store them out in the open, without wrapping them, so that the outsides stay crisp.
Lemon passion fruit curd: You can make this a day or two ahead of time. Store it in the fridge until you're ready to assemble.
Whipped cream: Best made right before you're ready to stack the pavlova.
The whole cake: Can be assembled a few hours before serving, just pop it in the freezer. This will help make it easier to slice too. But for the crispiest pavlova exterior, slice and serve immediately after assembly.
❔ Various flavors of curd filling
If you're looking for something other than a lemon passion fruit curd, make one of my other curd fillings for this pavlova cake. I have so many flavors for you to choose from!
- Zesty raspberry curd
- Tart cherry curd
- Creamy strawberry curd
- Peach curd
- Purple blueberry curd
📖 Recipe FAQs
No, I don't recommend using flour for pavlova. Flour tends to clump up so you're likely to get clumps of dry flour in the "baked pavlova. If you don't want to use cornstarch, you can use potato or arrowroot starch.
It's very tricky to make a pavlova without cornstarch. Cornstarch acts like an aid as it absorbs excess moisture from the egg whites and helps stabilize the pavlova texture as it sets in the oven. You only need a touch of cornstarch for a truly foolproof pavlova. For 6 egg whites, I used 2 teaspoons of cornstarch.
Placing the pavlova in a hot oven, then reducing the temperature helps set and solidify the exterior quickly, helping the pavlova layers hold their structure. After that, make sure that you're not opening the oven and checking as the sudden temperature fluctuation will cause it to deflate. Let the pavlova cool in the oven with the door closed for a few hours to ensure that the middle sets to a beautiful pillowy soft marshmallow interior.
🍓 More related recipes
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📖 Recipe
Passion Fruit Lemon Curd Stacked Pavlova Cake
Equipment
- stand mixer or electric hand mixer
Ingredients
Pavlova Layers
- 6 large eggs cold, you will need the yolks for the curd
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar or 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
Lemon Passion Fruit Curd
- 6 large egg yolks leftover from the meringue
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 1 passion fruit
- 100 g white chocolate 1 bar, chopped
- ¼ cup butter
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Whipped Cream
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream chilled
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup mascarpone cheese chilled
- 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste or 1 scraped vanilla bean pod
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup berries for topping
Instructions
Pavlova Layers
- Preheat the oven to 340°F (170°C). Find a plate or cake pan that is about 6 to 7 inches in diameter. Trace three circles onto parchment paper with a pencil and flip the parchment paper over. Place the parchment paper onto baking sheets.
- Separate the eggs, being very careful not to get any yolk into the whites. Place the whites into a clean and dry bowl of a stand mixer.6 large eggs
- Add cream of tartar to the egg whites and whip on medium-high speed with a whisk attachment. After about 30 seconds, gradually add the sugar, about one tablespoon at a time, while the mixer is running.½ teaspoon cream of tartar, 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- Keep whipping until the mixture reaches stiff peaks. If you pull the whisk out, the meringue will hold its shape firmly. This will take about 10 minutes. When you rub the mixture between your fingers, it should feel smooth, not gritty.
- Add the vanilla extract and mix on low briefly. Then, sprinkle cornstarch on top and fold it in gently with a spatula. Don't mix too long or it will deflate!2 teaspoons cornstarch, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Scoop the meringue into the middles of the three traced circles on the parchment paper. Then, gently smooth out the tops and sides into even layers, using the circles as guides. The layers will spread by about half an inch so leave room.
- Place the baking sheets into the oven. close the oven door and reduce the temperature to 115°C (240°F). Bake for one hour. Don't open the oven door! Then turn the oven off and let the pavlova cool inside the oven. You can let it cool overnight like I did. Or let it cool for about one to two hours. While it bakes, I make the curd.
Lemon Passion Fruit Curd
- Combine the egg yolks and sugar in a medium saucepan. Stir together.6 large egg yolks, ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- Add lemon juice and scoop out the insides of one passion fruit into the sauce pan. Heat on low heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture boils and thickens.⅓ cup lemon juice, 1 passion fruit
- Immediately remove the curd from the heat and add chopped white chocolate, butter, and salt. Stir together until combined and melted.100 g white chocolate, ¼ cup butter, ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- Transfer into a container and refrigerate until cold.
Whipped Cream and Assembly
- On the day of assembly, whip the cream and sugar to medium peaks in a large bowl with a whisk attachment.2 cups heavy whipping cream, ½ cup granulated sugar
- Add mascarpone cheese, vanilla paste, and salt. Whip to stiff peaks.1 cup mascarpone cheese, 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste, ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- Carefully peel off the pavlova disks off the parchment paper. Place a small dollop of cream onto a large cake plate or cake stand. Place the first pavlova layer down. Add half of the chilled curd on top and spread it to the edges.
- Then add one third of the whipped cream and spread it evenly. Repeat until the last pavlova disk. Place it gently on top and pile the rest of the cream on top.
- Decorate with berries. Slice and serve! This cake can be quite messy to slice so I recommend slicing and serving the whole cake at once, if you can. To make it easier to slice, pop the cake into the freezer for an hour or two, this will help it keep its shape.1 cup berries
Notes
- Pavlova Layers: I prefer making these the night before and just letting the layers hang out in the oven until I'm ready to use them. You can also make them the day of, just make sure they have plenty of time to bake and cool. I like to store them out in the open, without wrapping them, so that the outsides stay crisp.
- Lemon passion fruit curd: You can make this a day or two ahead of time. Store it in the fridge until you're ready to assemble.
- Whipped cream: Best made right before you're ready to stack the pavlova.
- The whole cake: Can be assembled a few hours before serving, just pop it in the freezer. This will help make it easier to slice too. But for the crispiest pavlova exterior, slice and serve immediately after assembly.
- Ensure that the bowl and whisk for the meringue is squeaky clean and bone dry
- Separate the eggs very carefully to prevent getting any yolks in the whites
- Carefully add the vanilla and cornstarch into the meringue
- Don't open the oven while the stacked pavlova bakes
- Stir the curd frequently as it cooks to prevent lumps and burning
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