Soft Cappuccino Meringue

Asked by MandyEllen. Answered on 24th January 2017

Full question

I tried the Cappuccino Pavlova and I followed the recipe - beat the egg whites to soft peaks then added the sugar coffee slowly one spoon at a time. But the meringue mixture just wouldn't stiffen. I kept beating for over 20mins and it still wasn't stiff. It wasn't really runny but it wasn't anywhere near stiff. So what I ended up doing was pouring the mixture into a spring loaded cake tin and then half way through cooking I sprung the cake tin rim to let the pav expand. I wasn't able to get instant coffee powder so I used finely ground coffee - the kind you use in a coffee plunger/espresso. Once cooked the meringue did rise beautifully but then completely sunk. There was a soft marshmallowy centre but it was more chewy than the base of the Lemon Pavlova. It was also much thinner in the centre. It tasted nice and everyone enjoyed it but I can't figure out what happened. What should I do next time?

Cappuccino Pavlova

By Nigella

Our answer

Nigella's Cappuccino Pavlova (from NIGELLISSIMA is a pavlova that is made with a coffee flavoured meringue. We suspect that some of the problem may have come from using ground coffee rather than espresso powder. The espresso powder will dissolve, along with the sugar, into the whisked egg whites but unfortunately even very finely ground coffee does not dissolve and could affect the texture of the meringue. Ground coffee can sometimes contain traces of oil and if grease comes into contact with egg whites then it will prevent the egg whites from whisking to full volume. In addition, ground coffee tends to be slightly moist and this moisture can also affect the meringue.

As the egg whites were whisked for such a long time then a lot of air will have been incorporated. When the meringue bakes this air expands and the meringue puffs up, but the more the meringue expands the more likely it is to sink and collapse as the meringue cools. The undissolved ground coffee could also have contributed to the meringue sinking. We would suggest trying to use instant coffee powder in the meringue and also make sure that your whisk and bowl are completely grease-free, as any traces of grease can also prevent the meringue from whisking properly.