The only difference between meringue cookies and pavlova is that pavlova is more of a giant cake of meringue. It’s also baked at a lower temperature but for a longer period of time. Low and slow will give your pavlova a nice cooked marshmallow-like inside with a crunchy and hard exterior. 

I would also recommend being really careful when transferring your pavlova (with the baking sheet) to your serving plate or cake stand. Its exterior crumbles rather easily so you might have cracks on the outside. Fret not, all your delicious Banoffee toppings could easily cover the cracks. Pavlovas are meant to have a rugged rustic look anyway. If you’re not serving your Banoffee Pie Pavlova immediately, be sure to store in the refrigerator to prevent your whipped cream from melting. You can take it out 30 minutes before serving. 

Ingredients

Pavlova

• 4 Large Egg Whites, room temperature
• 1 tsp Lemon Juice / ½ tsp White Vinegar
• 1 cup / 200g Granulated Sugar
• ½ tsp Vanilla Essence
• ½ tbsp Cornstarch / 1 tbsp Tapioca Starch

Banoffee Pie Toppings

• 1 – 1 ½ cup / 240ml – 360ml Heavy Cream/Whipping Cream
• 1 tbsp Granulated Sugar
• ½ cup Salted Caramel Sauce
• 1 – 2 Bananas
• 1 cup Walnuts and Almonds 
• 1 cup Crushed Cookies/Biscuits 
• 2 tbsp Chocolate Ganache

1. Preheat oven at 120°C and prepare a baking tray lined with parchment/baking paper. 

2. With your hand mixer or stand mixer, start whipping your egg whites until it’s foamy and opaque. 

3. Slowly add the sugar in batches into the eggs. Be sure to whisk the sugar in for a minute or so to make sure it’s fully incorporated. Rub the mixture between your two fingers to ensure there’s no grainy texture. 

4. Before the last batch on sugar, add in the lemon juice to stabilize the egg whites and continue whisking. Lastly, mix in the vanilla essence.

5. When the meringue has reached the stage with stiff peaks, you’re ready to transfer it to your baking tray. You can use a spatula to even out the top and create waves on the sides. 

If you’re planning on making a cake-like shape, you can trace a bowl onto the baking paper as a size guide. Otherwise, pile on the meringue on your baking tray with a size of 20cm by 30cm (8 inches by 12 inches). You will have a meringue mountain with even thickness. 

6. Reduce the oven temperature to 100°C and bake your pavlova for 80 to 90 minutes. This is the easiest part because you could easily forget about your pavlova. When the timer is done, you can leave the pavlova in the oven to cool down. 

Start assembling your Banoffee Pie Pavlova!

7. Whip your heavy cream with 1 tablespoon of sugar till soft peaks. Cut the bananas into thin slices when you’re ready to assemble. I would recommend toasting your walnuts and almonds before crushing them into small pieces. 

8. When you’re ready to serve, spread the cream onto the top of the pavlova before arranging the slices of banana on top. You can sprinkle the crumbled biscuits/cookies and/or your choice of nuts. Top it all off, with a drizzle of salted caramel and then chocolate ganache. Enjoy!

Original Recipe from Foodness Gracious