How Far In Advance Can I Put Cream On The Prodigious Pavlova?

Our answer

Nigella's Prodigious Pavlova (from NIGELLA CHRISTMAS) is a marshmallowy meringue slathered with whipped cream and topped with lychees, passionfruit and raspberry puree. The meringue can be made a day in advance as long as you have a dry place to store it.

However, the meringue will start to soften once any whipped cream and fruit are added so we tend to suggest topping the meringue just before serving. Also, if you put the cream on too far in advance then the pavlova will need refrigerating and this can also cause the meringue to soften. In addition, whipped cream made with heavy or whipping cream does not actually hold very well (though UK double cream does hold once whipped). Instead, we would suggest making the raspberry sauce 2-3 days in advance and refrigerating it until needed. The lychees can be drained and the passionfruit scooped into a bowl several hours in advance and refrigerated until needed. Softly whip the cream 3-4 hours in advance and refrigerate and give it a short extra whisk, if necessary, just before using. Then assembling the pavlova will be a matter of minutes and there isn't a risk of having a soggy meringue.