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Peach Pavlova

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Crispy on the outside, pillowy and marshmallowy on the inside, this meringue based dessert, pavlova, is perfect with a variety of toppings. My peach pavlova is layered with mascarpone whipped cream, macerated peaches, honey and chopped pistachios. It’s light, not overly sweet, and absolutely delicious.

peach pavlova

Pavlova Ingredients

  • Egg whites – the foundation of the pavlova, the main ingredient
  • Cream of tartar – helps prevent the egg whites from collapsing, keeping the meringue stable, and also helps prevent weeping after the pavlova is baked
  • Cornstarch – helps the center of the pavlova become thicker, and more marshmallowy
  • Granulated sugar – Sugar is necessary in making a meringue. Don’t reduce the sugar as it’s needed to make a proper meringue.
  • Vanilla – flavor
peach pavlova

Tips for perfect pavlovas:

  • Avoid baking pavlovas in high humidity – Sugar can absorb water from the surrounding environment, so when this happens and the sugar absorbs too much, the pavlova can weep.
  • A stand mixer is a recommended for pavlovas. Hand mixers will work too, but it will take a few minutes longer, and require a bit of more work. Avoid hand whisking.
  • Adding the sugar slowly to the meringue ensures that the sugar is dissolving. Undissolved sugar can cause weeping (leaking water) after being being baked.
  • Don’t over beat the egg whites before adding sugar. If you beat the egg whites too much and they become grainy, you’ll have to start over. Over beaten egg whites can lead to a weeping, cracked and sunken pavlova.
  • A bit of cracking, and the center of the pavlova sinking a bit, is completely normal. When the center sinks and pulls away from the sides, it’s likely the egg whites were over beaten, causing the egg protein structure to collapse. Ensuring that your oven temperature is correct, and the oven isn’t opened during or right after baking, will help prevent cracking.
peach pavlova

How to make pavlova

  • Preheat the oven to 275F and draw a 6″ circle on a piece of parchment.
  • Whisk the egg whites until foamy.
  • Beat in the cream of tartar, and beat the whites until soft peaks form.
  • Beat in the sugar and cornstarch a couple tablespoons at a time.
  • Beat until the meringue is thick and glossy.
  • Pile the meringue in the center of the 6″ circle, smoothing out the meringue and creating a design with an offset spatula.
  • Bake for 50-60 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 250F. Do not open the oven.
  • Bake for an additional 45 minutes.
  • Turn off the oven, leave the oven closed, and turn on the oven light.
  • Leave the pavlova to cool in the oven for at least an hour or up to overnight.
peach pavlova

Peach Pavlova toppings

  • Mascarpone whipped cream – Mascarpone, cream, powdered sugar and vanilla are beaten together to medium peaks and layered onto the pavlova.
  • Macerated peaches – Peaches are mixed with brown sugar and a pinch of salt, then left to soften. The peaches are strained, reserving 1 tablespoon of juice. Layer the peaches over the mascarpone cream.
  • Honey – Whisk together the reserved peach juice and honey and drizzle over the peaches.
  • Chopped pistachios – Sprinkle chopped pistachios over the pavlova for a little crunch.
peach pavlova

If you make my peach pavlova, let me know! Drop a comment below or tag me on Instagram.

Enjoy! 

Ash xx

For more meringue based desserts, check out these recipes:

Summer Berry Eton Mess Cheesecake

Berry Lemon Layered Pavlova

Lemon Meringue Cheesecake

Sweet Potato Pie with Toasted Marshmallow Meringue

peach pavlova
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Peach Pavlova

Crisp on the outside, soft and marshmallow-like on the inside, topped with mascarpone whipped cream, fresh peaches, honey and chopped pistachios.
Prep Time30 mins
Cook Time1 hr 35 mins
Cool2 hrs
Total Time4 hrs 5 mins
Course: Dessert
Keyword: honey, mascarpone whipped cream, pavlova, peach pavlova, pistachio
Servings: 12

Equipment

Ingredients

Pavlova

  • 6 large (210) egg whites, room temperature
  • ⅛ teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1 ½ cups (285g) granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Peaches

  • 2 large (2 cups/340g) peaches, sliced
  • 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
  • pinch of salt

Mascarpone Whipped Cream

  • 1/2 cup (114g) mascarpone cheese, cold
  • 1 cup (227g) heavy cream, cold
  • ¼ cup (28g) powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup (84g) honey
  • ¼ cup (28g) chopped pistachios

Instructions

Pavlova

  • Preheat the oven to 275F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and draw a 6" circle. It doesn't have to be exact. Flip the parchment so the circle is underneath.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on medium speed until frothy. 
  • Beat in the cream of tartar.
  • Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and beat the whites to soft peaks.
  • Whisk together the sugar with the cornstarch.
  • While continuing to beat the egg whites, gradually add the sugar mixture (a couple tablespoons at a time) and beat until glossy and stiff peaks form.
  • Spoon the meringue onto the parchment circle. Use an offset spatula to spread the meringue evenly to the edges of the circle. Create design into the meringue (see my reels on Instagram)
  • Bake for 60 minutes or until the meringue starts to turn a very pale tan color.
  • Reduce the heat to 250°F (do not open the door) and continue to bake for 45 minutes. 
  • Turn off the oven, (do not open the door) and turn on the light. Leave the meringue sitting in the cooling oven for hour, up to overnight. The center will collapse and you might see some cracks – totally normal.

Macerate Peaches

  • In a large bowl combine the peaches, brown sugar and salt.
  • Stir until well mixed. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
  • With a strainer, strain the peaches over a bowl, reserving 1 tablespoon of peach juice.

Mascarpone Whipped Cream

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, on low medium speed beat the mascarpone until smooth, about 2 minutes.
  • Pour in the cream, powdered sugar and vanilla, and beat until medium peaks form. (not soft peaks but not stiff, somewhere in between)

Assemble Pavlova

  • Top the pavlova with the whipped cream.
  • Layer the peaches on top of the whipped cream.
  • Combine the honey with 1 tablespoon of the reserved peach juice.
  • Drizzle the honey mixture over the peaches.
  • Sprinkle the top with chopped pistachios, then serve.

Notes

Pavlova can be made a day in advance with out the toppings. Keep the meringue in a cool, non-humid space.  I recommend a cold oven.
Once topped the pavlova is best the day it’s made as the pavlova will start to soften.

Brown Butter Stone Fruit Tart

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Oftentimes, I’ve heard the phrase, “It’s just too pretty to eat.” I mean, it is food after all, and meant to be eaten, right? And then I finished decorating this tart, and thought to myself, how can I cut this?  It’s just too pretty to eat. But, admittedly, totally worth the destruction in order to do so. This brown butter stone fruit tart is as delicious as it is beautiful. It’s rich and creamy, slightly sweet, fresh and flavorful. It’s the perfect end of summer tart to use up those juicy, sweet in season stone fruits.

Brown Butter Stone Fruit Tart

My brown butter stone fruit tart is easy to prepare, and all the components can be made in advance and assembled before serving. Thick and silky brown butter pastry cream is spread into a crisp and crumbly sweet tart crust and topped with ripe juicy peaches, red plums and cherries. The tart is sprinkled with toasted almonds and Demerara sugar for extra crunch and sweetness right before serving. It’s simple but complex in flavor from the vanilla flecked brown butter pastry cream and the combination of ripe fruits.

For the tart crust, I used my go-to Sweet Tart Crust. It’s easily prepared in a food processor and bakes up beautifully golden brown. It’s buttery, tender and slightly sweet – a perfect crust for holding all types of fillings. The tart crust for this recipe is baked until golden brown and cooled completely before the pastry cream is added.

Brown Butter Stone Fruit Tart

How to make brown butter pastry cream

Pastry cream is similar to vanilla pudding in how it’s made and it’s consistency. Pastry cream is a custard, thickened with egg yolks and cornstarch, while pudding is thickened with fewer or no eggs, and cornstarch. To make the brown butter pastry cream, start by making the brown butter first, and allowing it to cool just slightly. You want it to still be warm, but not boiling hot.  This will be added to the custard still warm. The milk, sugar and salt are combined in a saucepan and heated until simmering. While the milk is heating up, egg yolks, additional sugar and cornstarch are beaten together to make a thickened, homogenous mixture. Once the milk is heated, it is slowly whisked into the egg yolk mixture to temper the eggs. This ensures that the eggs are being heated gradually, and won’t seize when cooking. Then the mixture is returned back to the saucepan to cook until bubbling and thickened.

The pastry cream is strained to catch any potential egg bits that might have cooked or curdled, and to keep it smooth and silky. The brown butter and vanilla are whisked in, and the pastry cream needs to chill for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight. You want the pastry cream to be super cold before adding it to the tart crust.

Brown Butter Stone Fruit Tart

Assembling the tart

Assemble the tart before serving so that any  liquid from the fruit doesn’t make the pastry cream watery or the tart soggy. Spread the pastry cream into the tart crust, and top with your favorite fresh stone fruits. Peaches, red plums and cherries are some of my favorites so I chose to use them here, but apricots, nectarines and blackberries (yes, they’re stone fruits) would be delicious as well.

The sweet crust and the pastry cream aren’t super sweet, to allow the ripe, seasonal fruit to really shine. Ripe fruit will be the sweetest and most flavorful.

Brown Butter Stone Fruit Tart

Slice the peaches and plums into thin slices, and fan them out over the pastry cream in little sections. Place some pitted and halved cherries, as well as some whole, stemmed cherries on the tart, down the center, or off to the side. Sprinkle some toasted almonds to fill in any gaps. Finish the tart by sprinkling with Demerara sugar. The sugar will cause the fruit to get juicer so be sure to add the sugar just before serving.

Brown Butter Stone Fruit Tart

For more fruity recipes, check out these posts:

Honey Cardamom Peach Galettes

Chai Spiced Apple Cranberry Pie

Spicy Pineapple Margarita Granita

Brown Butter Stone Fruit Tart
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Brown Butter Stone Fruit Tart

Thick and silky brown butter pastry cream is spread into a crisp and crumbly sweet tart crust and topped with ripe juicy peaches, red plums and cherries and sprinkled with toasted almonds and Demerara sugar.
Prep Time35 mins
Cook Time25 mins
Chill3 hrs
Total Time4 hrs
Course: Dessert
Keyword: brown butter cream cheese frosting, pastry cream, peaches, plums, stone fruit, tart
Servings: 8 servings

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 1 recipe Sweet Tart Dough, fully cooked
  • 1/4 cup (57g) unsalted butter
  • 2 cups (480ml) whole milk
  • 1/2 cup (100g) light brown sugar, packed, divided
  • 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 5 large egg yolks
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla paste (or vanilla extract)
  • 3 peaches
  • 3 red plums
  • 1/2 cup (80g) cherries
  • Toasted almonds, for sprinkling
  • Demerara sugar, for sprinkling

Instructions

Brown Butter Pastry Cream

  • Place the butter into a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook the butter until deep golden brown, and the butter stops popping. Set aside to cool until warm.
  • In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the milk, salt and 1/4 cup of sugar and bring to a simmer.
  • Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and egg yolks and whisk until fully mixed, about 30 seconds.
  • Whisk in the cornstarch until thickened, for about a minute.
  • When the milk mixture is simmering, remove the saucepan from the heat. Carefully and slowly, whisk the milk into the egg mixture.
  • Pour the egg/milk mixture back into the saucepan and place over medium heat, whisking continuously until the pastry cream thickens and slow bubbles pop on the surface.
  • Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a clean bowl to remove any curdled bits, and to smooth out the cream.
  • Whisk in the brown butter and vanilla bean paste.
  • Cover the surface of the pastry cream with plastic wrap so that a skin doesn't form. Allow the pastry cream to cool to room temperature.
  • Chill the pastry cream in the fridge until completely chilled, about 3 hours, preferably overnight before using.

Assembling the Tart

  • Assemble the tart just before serving. Slice the peaches and plums into thin slices.
  • Pit and halve the cherries, leaving a few stemmed and uncut. Set aside.
  • Stir the chilled pastry cream. Pour into the cooled, fully baked tart crust.
  • With an offset spatula, spread the pastry cream out evenly in the tart crust.
  • Place the peaches and plums over the pastry cream. Top with cherries.
  • Sprinkle the toasted almonds over the tart, filling in some of the gaps where the pastry cream is can be seen.
  • Sprinkle the tart with Demerara sugar. Serve immediately.

Roasted Peach Crisp Ice Cream

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I’ve made an exciting change to my life that I’m super excited to share with you all. It’s been a couple months since I’ve posted last and I’ve been really bummed about it – it’s been crazy busy! In addition to blogging, baking and caking, I’ve been working with my husband on his growing business (which I love), and it’s really gotten me to reconsider where I want to take my business. So, I’ve decided to take on limited wedding cake clients and focus more blogging, and teaching baking and cake decorating. With that said, I’m stoked about this decision and I’m looking forward to seeing where this new journey takes me.

Roasted Peach Crisp Ice Cream

Now, let’s talk about this star of this show, er, blog post. Roasted peach crisp ice cream. Roasted and caramelized peaches and crunchy oat and pecan crisp swirled into creamy and decadent vanilla bean ice cream. All you love in a baked fruit crisp packed into a delicious and out of this world ice cream.

I mean, there’s nothing quite like homemade ice cream. It’s creamier, richer and more flavorful than the store-bought tub variety. So, it’s no surprise that when the weather started to get warmer, I instantly had homemade ice cream on the brain. I got a new ice cream machine for Christmas that I have been patiently waiting to use. And, with the abundance of seasonal, summer fruits at the farmers markets – including ripe, fragrant and juicy peaches, I knew that’s how I wanted to break in my new machine.

Roasted Peach Crisp Ice Cream

Using ripe peaches reduces the amount of sugar you need to add to your peaches before roasting, but they also just simply taste better by leaps and bounds. I tossed peeled, pitted and sliced peaches in some brown sugar, cinnamon and a pinch of salt and roasted them in the oven to bring out more of their natural sugars and deepen the peach flavor.  When the peaches are caramelized, roasted and cooled, I chop them up into smaller pieces and pop them into the refrigerator.

The crunchy crisp topping is the same topping I use for my go-to fruit crisp recipe. I used toasted pecans for this recipe, mostly because it’s my favorite nut to bake with, but any nut will work here. Almonds would be amazing as they go really well peaches. Roasting the pecans deepens their flavor, keeps them crunchy and completely transforms them from meh to amazing. For optimal flavor, don’t skip toasting your pecans. Bake the crisp topping until golden brown, let it cool completely, then store in the refrigerator until the ice cream is churned and you’re ready to layer in the roasted peaches and the crisp topping.

Roasted Peach Crisp Ice Cream

The ice cream base I used for my roasted peach crisp ice cream is a standard custard, or French-style base made with egg yolks. My preferred dairy to use is heavy cream and whole milk. You can also just use half and half if you wish. I find that this is a good balance to create a silky, creamy ice cream without being too rich. You can definitely play around with dairy ratios, but keep in mind, the more fat you use, the smoother, creamier and richer it will be. Like the traditional style custard, I use egg yolks in my ice cream. Egg yolks prevent ice crystals, which allows the ice cream to last longer. Egg yolks also make for a richer tasting and textured ice cream due to it’s emulsifying qualities.

The mixture of sugar, eggs, milk and cream and salt are cooked until thickened, strained and allowed to cool a bit before adding extracts. I used both vanilla and vanilla bean paste for optimal vanilla flavor. Once room temperature, the mixture is set aside in the fridge to chill completely – 8 hours at the very least. You want your ice cream base to be super cold. I make my ice cream base 24 hours in advance before I need it. At this time, I also put my ice cream machine bowl in the freezer to freeze completely.

Roasted Peach Crisp Ice Cream

After I churn my ice cream and it resembles soft serve, I layer the ice cream, the peaches and the crisp topping into my preferred container (I used a 9×5 loaf pan here) and swirl to evenly mix. Pop the ice cream into the freezer to harden up a bit more before serving. I like to top my scoops of ice cream with extra crisp topping when serving.

Did I mention how warm my studio was when photographing my roasted peach crisp ice cream? But really, I sort of love all the little drips and melty pools of ice cream in the photos. Luckily, my roasted peach crisp ice cream was promptly eaten by guests I had coming over. And by promptly eaten, I mean essentially inhaled.

Roasted Peach Crisp Ice Cream

If you try my roasted peach crisp ice cream, let me know! Leave a comment in the comment area below and be sure to snap a photo and tag it #littlevintagebaking on Instagram. I love seeing your Little Vintage Baking creations!

For more fruity desserts, check out the recipe for my raspberry swirl cheesecake brownies or this Meyer lemon ginger tart with toasted honey meringue!

Roasted Peach Crisp Ice Cream
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Roasted Peach Crisp Ice Cream

Roasted and caramelized peaches and crunchy oat and pecan crisp swirled into creamy and decadent vanilla bean ice cream.
Prep Time15 mins
Cook Time25 mins
Churn8 hrs
Total Time8 hrs 40 mins
Course: Dessert
Keyword: ice cream, peach crisp, peach ice cream, Roasted Peach Crisp ice cream
Servings: 10 - 12 servings

Equipment

Ingredients

Roasted Peaches:

  • 2 cups fresh peaches, peeled and pitted, sliced I used 5 small/medium size peaches
  • 2 tbsp light brown brown sugar
  • 1/8 tsp fine sea salt
  • 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Crisp Topping:

  • 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp (80g) all purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup (25g) old fashioned oats
  • 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
  • 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup (50g) light brown sugar
  • 6 tbsp (85g) unsalted butter, cold and cut into chunks
  • 1/4 cup (30g) pecans, chopped and toasted

Ice Cream Base:

  • 1 1/2 cups (355ml heavy cream
  • 1 1/2 cups (355ml) whole milk
  • 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
  • 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
  • 7 large egg yolks
  • 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 2 tsp pure vanilla bean paste

Instructions

Make the ice cream base.

  • Set up an ice bath by placing a 2-quart bowl into a larger bowl that has been filled with ice water. Place a strainer over the smaller bowl and set aside.
  • Combine the milk, cream, sugar and salt into a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat.
  • In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks until they have lightened in color. 
  • Gradually pour some of the milk/cream mixture into the yolks, whisking constantly as you slowly pour. Scrape the mixture back into the saucepan.
  • Cook over low heat, stirring and scraping the pan constantly with a spatula, until the mixture is silky, thickens and reaches a temperature of 170-175F.
  • Strain the mixture into the bowl on the ice and stir the mixture over the ice until the mixture cools to room temperature.
  • Stir in the vanilla and vanilla bean. Cover and refrigerate the mixture for a minimum 8 hours, preferably overnight or 24 hours.

Make the roasted peaches.

  • Preheat the oven to 425F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper to keep the peaches from sticking.
  • Combine the peach slices, brown sugar salt and cinnamon into a medium size bowl and toss to coat.
  • Pour the peaches onto the sheet pan. Space them out into one even layer. 
  • Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until softened, tender and caramelized. Flip the peaches halfway through cooking and rotate the sheet pan.
  • Let the peaches cool completely on the sheet pan. Once cool, chop the peaches into smaller pieces. Place in a container and store in the refrigerator until the ice cream is ready.

Make the crisp topping.

  • Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
  • In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Pulse to combine. Add in the oats and the butter and pulse until the mixture comes together and forms large clumps.
  • Stir in the chopped pecans. Turn out the crisp onto the sheet pan and spread into an even layer.
  • Bake the crisp for 10-15, stirring halfway through, until deep golden brown.
  • Let the crisp cool completely then place into a container and store in the refrigerator until the  ice cream is ready.

Freeze and compile the ice cream.

  • Freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. This should take 25-40 minutes. Your ice cream should be thick like soft-serve. 
  • Once the ice cream is frozen, layer the ice cream, peaches and crisp into the container of your choosing. I used a 9x5 loaf pan. Use a knife to swirl in the peaches and crisp thoroughly. 
  • Cover the ice cream with cling wrap. Place the ice cream back into the freezer to harden and remove a few minutes before serving. Serve your ice cream scoops with some additional crisp topping sprinkled on top. Enjoy!