Recipe for Pavlova

Found this recipe on internet & tested:
Whip 4 egg whites with 1 cup castor sugar, add 1tsp cornflour till stiff then add 1tsp vinegar.
Pour on baking sheet lined tray and shape it round with spatula (using the bottom of a round pan placed underneath the baking sheet as guide). Bake at 100 deg.C for 1 to 1 1/2 hrs till done. Cool it down in the oven and serve with whipped cream & fruits...
tadaa...


But, why the base is wet arrr?

Wah Yasmin, you pav looks soooo luscious and yummy!! Makes me wanna go & make one. My daughter loves pavlova.

Regarding the wet base, did you take it off the baking sheet after it cooled down? Was the base still wet when you took it out, or was it dry? The base looks shiny and brownish, which makes me suspect that your meringue 'weeped' while it was baking, causing the sugar to melt and caramelize.

One sure way to prevent this is to make sure your sugar is thoroughly dissolved in the egg white; but if you beat them together from the start, I'm sure that wasn't the problem. Actually I'm stumped. I've never had this problem when I make pavlova, or other meringue.

I find that pavlova, or any meringue in general, does better when baked on foil, rather than parchment - it doesn't stick so much so it's easier to peel off the baked meringue.

your sugar has not dissolved completely.next time, feel the whipped whites between yr fingers and if you can feel the sugar, whip it a bit more. and i use either cornflour or vinegar. usually cornflour though. this makes the meringue chewy in the centre. both can be omitted.
i also always heat the oven slightly higher than recommended and cranked it down once i put the meringue in...
but all is not lost, yours is a beautiful meringue and i'm sure tastes just as good. i love meringue but i usually do 3 large pieces and stacked them up , like a cake..

Thanks shimi & coleslaw for the pointers. The base was still wet when I took it out and then I put it back in again for another few minutes hoping it will dry, that's why it's brown. I sure did not test if the sugars are all dissolved...hehehe I should make a better one the next time...

That looks fab to me, the last time I tried merinque it nearly swam out of the oven on a tide of sugar slime! Used to be able to make them fine, so I blame it on the oven....

On a more serious note ;-) I like a fake banoffi pie, which is just whipped cream with bananas and a toffee sauce drizzled over. On the plate, it just crunches down like an Eton mess. No pastry, so maybe a bit lower in calories...........