These Mini Easter Pavlovas have a chocolate swirled pavlova base and are topped with coconut whipped cream, shredded coconut, and Cadbury Mini Eggs. They make for a fun and delicious Easter dessert, but the mini pavlova base can be made any time of year!
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Though it can and should be enjoyed throughout the entire year, palova is often associated with Easter. It's light, marshmallow-like texture is reminiscent of spring and it's often paired with whipped cream and fresh fruit.
But what could make pavlova even more Easter-y? How about topping it with Cadbury Mini Eggs?
Count me in! These Easter pavlovas are mini desserts topped with coconut whipped cream and Cadbury Mini Eggs. They are perfect for Easter brunch or dinner, but can be easily adjusted for any holiday!
The actual pavlovas are a simple chocolate swirl pavlova and they're topped with coconut cream whipped cream, shredded coconut, and Cadbury Mini Eggs. Heaven.
❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
There's a lot to love about this mini Easter pavlovas! First of all, they're incredibly easy to make no matter your baking skill level.
And they're fun both to look at and to eat! Your guests will ooh and ahh when you serve these at the end of your Easter meal.
And they'll be thrilled when they take their first bite. The pavlovas have a touch of chocolate and are nice and crispy on the outside with a sweet marshmallow-like consistency on the inside. The whipped cream is packed with coconut flavor and who would turn down a Cadbury Mini Egg at Easter time?
🥚 What's the difference between meringue and pavlova?
Great question! It's actually funny because I brought these to my parents' house and when my mom took a bite, she said, "they're a little marshmallow-y in the center." Yes! And that, my friends is the difference between meringue and pavlova.
Pavlovas are a type of meringue, but while typical meringues are crispy throughout, pavlovas are crispy on the outside and more gooey on the inside.
Pavlovas generally have cornstarch in them (regular meringues don't) and they're cooked for a shorter time than meringue.
Both are delicious, but I think of meringue as more of a fun little treat and pavlova as more of a served dessert.
🗒 Ingredients
You may think these mini pavlovas look complicated to make, but the ingredients are actually quite simple. Here's everything you need (be sure to view the recipe card at the bottom of this post for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions):
- Large egg whites
- Salt
- Granulated sugar
- Cornstarch
- Vanilla extract
- White wine vinegar
- Dark chocolate
- Coconut cream (or coconut milk)
- Confectioners' sugar
- Shredded coconut
- Cadbury Mini Eggs
👩🍳 How to make Easter pavlovas
The most important part of making pavlova is making sure your egg whites are at the right consistency.
You'll start by beating the egg whites and salt in a mixing bowl at medium speed until soft peaks form. It will probably take about 2 minutes and you can see what soft peaks look like in the upper right photo of the below collage.
While the mixer is still running, add in the sugar, 1-2 Tbsp at a time. Continue to beat until the egg whites get shiny and develop stiff peaks, like in the left image in the collage below. This will take about 6-8 minutes. Technically, you should be able to hold the mixing bowl upside down without the egg whites moving (I dare you to hold the bowl over your head!)
Once stiff peaks have formed, mix in cornstarch, white wine vinegar, and vanilla.
Now you're ready to form your mini pavlovas. You could technically just scoop the batter onto a baking sheet, but I like to pipe it on since it's a little bit nicer looking. I use a Wilton 1A tip, but you could also use a star tip like a 1M.
Pipe batter onto parchment-lined baking sheets. For these ones, I made rounds that were about 3 inches in diameter, but you can make any size you want. Leave at least an inch between each round, but don't worry too much because the pavlovas shouldn't really spread.
Using a toothpick, swirl a little melted chocolate into the pavlova and then press gently with the back of a spoon to indent a bit. This is where your whipped cream and eggs will sit once the pavlova is baked.
Pop in the oven at 240 degrees for 60 minutes. When an hour is up, turn the oven off and crack open the oven door. Let the pavlovas sit in the oven for another hour. This will help them dry out more and prevent cracking.
Below you can see how they look just piped onto the baking sheet and right out of the oven.
🥥 How to make coconut whipped cream
When pavlova Easter desserts are finished baking, you can make the coconut whipped cream. Take a can of chilled coconut cream (you can also use coconut milk) and spoon out all of the cream, leaving any watery liquid behind in the can.
In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, whip the cream until it's nice and fluffy. Add confectioners' sugar and beat another minute.
When pavlovas are completely cooled, top them with the coconut whipped cream, a little bit of shredded coconut, and Cadbury Mini Eggs. They're like little bird's nests!
This Easter dessert is definitely for coconut lovers, but you can make a couple quick changes to it if you're not a coconut fan. Instead of using coconut whipped cream, make whipped cream with regular heavy cream (or you can even buy it!) and omit the shredded coconut.
These will still be seriously delicious.
Because this dessert is really all about those chocolate swirled mini pavlovas. To be honest, they don't need to be topped with anything at all and are fun to eat simply as a treat... But the whipped cream, coconut, and candy certainly make them more of a fun Easter dessert.
Plus, there's no chance I'd turn down the opportunity to eat more Easter candy.
And I like that each mini pavlova has exactly three Cadbury Mini Eggs on it... Please keep the bag away from me, otherwise, I will not be able to stop eating them. I think I might vote them as most addictive candy EVER.
Instead, now I can't stop eating these chocolate swirled Easter pavlova desserts.
⏲️ Can you make these ahead of time?
Not only can you make these mini desserts ahead of time, but you should make them ahead of time!
I highly recommend making the pavlovas and coconut whipped cream in advance and then assembling them right before serving.
The coconut whipped cream really needs to be refrigerated, but the pavlova will soften if you put it in the fridge, so I try to avoid that by assembling right before serving. Keep the mini pavlova in an airtight container on your counter until you're ready.
I absolutely love that these mini Easter pavlovas are nice and crispy on the outside and marshmallow-like on the inside and I wouldn't want to do anything to lose that consistency!
🎉 Variations on recipe
Like I mentioned, there are a lot of things you can do to adjust this recipe to your own preferences or for the season. Here are some ideas:
- Use plain whipped cream instead of coconut whipped cream.
- Skip the chocolate swirls in the pavlova or try white chocolate instead.
- Replace the Cadbury Eggs with jelly beans.
- Drizzle chocolate sauce or caramel sauce over the mini pavlova.
- Top with seasonal fruit instead of candy.
- For Christmas, make peppermint whipped cream and top with crushed candy canes.
- For Halloween, swirl orange or black food coloring in the pavlovas, color the whipped cream, and top with candy corn or other Halloween candy.
- Top with blueberries and sliced strawberries for the 4th of july.
- Top with sliced strawberries and dark chocolate sauce for Valentine's Day. Or use conversation hearts.
- Use festive sprinkles.
🐰 More Easter desserts
If you're looking for more fun treats to enjoy during the Easter season, I have plenty! Here are some of my favorite Easter desserts:
I also highly recommend Rainbow Sherbet Meringues, Cadbury Mini Egg Scones, Easter Oreo Bark, and Cadbury Creme Egg Ice Cream.
And I can't wait to try this Easter Egg Cheesecake!
So, yes, I'm calling these Easter pavlovas, but I highly recommend you make the mini pavlovas any time and then top them with whipped cream and the candy of your choice.
What are you serving for Easter dessert?
If you want to binge make pavlova, too, check out my S'mores Pavlova or my Peppermint Pavlova with White Chocolate Whipped Cream.
📖 Recipe
Mini Easter Pavlovas
Ingredients
- 5 large egg whites, room temperature
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp white wine vinegar
- 2 oz. dark chocolate, melted
- 1 can coconut cream (or milk) (chilled in fridge for at least 8 hours)
- 3 Tbsp confectioners' sugar
- ⅓ cup shredded coconut
- 36 Cadbury Mini Eggs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 240 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a stand mixer or in a large bowl with hand mixer, beat the egg whites and salt on medium speed until soft peaks form, about 2 minutes. With mixer still on, beat in sugar slowly, 1-2 Tbsp at a time, and continue to beat until egg whites turn shiny and stiff, about 6-8 minutes.
- With mixer on low, beat in cornstarch, vanilla, and white wine vinegar.
- Scoop pavlova batter into a pastry bag fitted with a 2A or 1M tip and pipe rounds roughly 3 inches in diameter onto baking sheets about 1 inch apart. You should get about 12 mini pavlovas.
- Using a toothpick drizzle a little bit of dark chocolate onto each pavlova and gently swirl around. Using the back of a spoon, lightly press into each pavlova to make a slight indentation.
- Put baking sheets in oven for 60 minutes. Turn oven off, open slightly, and keep pavlovas in oven for another 60 minutes.
- When pavlovas are cooling, make coconut cream whipped cream. Scoop cream out of can and into mixing bowl, leaving any watery liquid behind. Whip the cream until fluffy. Add confectioners' sugar and beat for another minute
- Top each mini pavlova with coconut whipped cream. Sprinkle shredded coconut on and top each with 3 Cadbury Mini Eggs.
Notes
- I recommend making mini pavlovas and coconut whipped cream in advance and assembling them right before serving. Keep whipped cream in fridge and keep pavlovas in airtight container on counter.
- If you don't like coconut, you can top these with regular whipped cream and omit the shredded coconut topping.
Lisa says
These are so cute for Easter and I love Pavlovas! Can't wait to test your recipe out.
Katie says
SO DARLING! We're having Easter brunch with friends, and my bestie loves to cook too. She mentioned making pavlovas, and I am sending her this recipe pronto! 🙂 I can't wait to try it!
Mary Bostow says
Mmm, love pavlovas! They are super simple, always look elegant dessert. Thanks:)
Luci's Morsels says
I totally prefer pavlova over meringue, but didn't know the difference until now! These look great. And GoT. My husband fell in love with it while I was traveling two years ago. He insisted I watch all 7 seasons last year (at a leisurely pace), so we were ready for last night. Honestly, the first few seasons were hard for me to get into, but now I'm invested and enjoy the show! It's one of the very few I"m actually caught up on though!
Alexandra @ It's Not Complicated Recipes says
Super cute! What fun - ideal for Easter, and delicious too 🙂 Adore this.
Kate @ Framed Cooks says
These are the CUTEST!!!