Refrigerated Chocolate Raspberry Pavlova

Asked by magda_wallmont. Answered on 3rd October 2014

Full question

Hello, I made the Chocolate Raspberry Pavlova the other night and it went down a treat with me and the boyfriend. We ate half of it in the first sitting! I went on to cover the remainder of it with a glass dome and left it in the fridge overnight for the following day. To my disappointment it became awfully soggy and deflated. Any tips on how to store any leftovers of the pavlova to keep its freshness? Many thanks!

Our answer

Unfortunately you do need to refrigerate leftover pavlova as it has a whipped cream topping, but any pavlova will tend to go soggy in the fridge. This is because the sugar in the meringue sugar tends to attact and absorb moisture (sugar is is hygroscopic). The meringue will not only absorb some moisture from the cream but also from the slightly damp air in the fridge.

Covering the meringue may help a little, though it mainly helps to stop the pavlova absorbing odours from other ingredients in the fridge. In future you may want to make two smaller discs of meringue (for 2-3 person portions) from the mixture so that you can fill each one separately, just before serving. The disc should keep, in an airtight container in a cool dry place, for 2 days. The baking time may be slightly shorter, check the meringue after 1 hour in the oven.