Sugar-Free Keto Pavlova Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Can you reduce sugar in meringue? ›

You can easily halve the sugar measurement for a traditional meringue recipe and still have it come out OK (albeit less tasty) - especially if you make one of the more stable meringue types, such as an Italian meringue where the sugar is combined as boiling sugar syrup.

It gets even better - you can also find desserts made with keto-friendly ingredients like healthy fats from coconut oil, and flours made from nuts and seeds, like almond flour, pumpkin seed flour, flaxseed flour or sunflower seed flour. These sugar-free ingredients can easily fit into a balanced Keto diet.

The acid will actually help stabilise your whipped whites too. That's why we add cream of tartar to our pavlova recipes. If you use a little more vinegar in the meringue, you'll encourage a soft centre and a crisp shell.

If the sugar doesn't dissolve properly the meringue can “weep” droplets of moisture during and after baking. Beat the egg whites only until soft peaks form before you start adding the sugar; if you beat the whites until they are stiff and dry, the sugar will take longer to dissolve.

Eggs – Fresh eggs are best for making meringue. Using boxed or carton egg whites is not recommended, as they are usually pasteurized, and that processing can sometimes keep the meringue from getting completely glossy and stiff. Sugar – Can't have a meringue without the sweetness of sugar!

You can use a different powdered sugar substitute to avoid a gritty result (and see my sweeteners conversion chart for how much to substitute), but for best taste and cookie shape I only recommend this one. Cream Of Tartar – Acts as a stabilizer for the egg whites and helps them whip into meringue faster.

Non-nutritive sweeteners, also called sugar substitutes, contain few or no calories and sugar. This means they won't raise your blood sugar or impact ketosis,” says Sofia Norton, RD and writer. The best non-nutritive sweeteners are natural ones like stevia, monk fruit, and erythritol.

If a sugar-free item is loaded with carbs and not the best ingredients, it's not keto-friendly. When following the keto diet, your goal is to keep your carb intake as low as possible, typically 20 to 30 grams of carbs a day, in order to stay in ketosis.

1. Sugar-Free Chocolate: Look for dark chocolate with a high cocoa content and little to no added sugar. 2. Stevia or Erythritol-Sweetened Treats: Use sweeteners like stevia or erythritol to make keto-friendly desserts, such as cheesecakes, brownies, or cookies.

Pavlova shell isn't crisp: is it humid? Pavlovas love to soak up moisture, so avoid making them on humid days. Egg whites won't whip: make sure your metal or glass mixing bowl is completely clean and dry, with no oily residue.

Why put salt in pavlova? ›

Salt causes the whites to collapse a little and therefore to whip up better — but just a pinch of fine salt at the beginning. Too much and you can end up with a dead pavlova once baked.

Sugar makes the pavlova mixture strong and stable, and is responsible for that super hard shiny crust. I found that as you reduce the sugar or increase the brown sugar (it has more moisture), the final result is a chewier, with a more fragile, shattery crust.

Pavlovas can go flat if the meringue base was not whisked enough, or whisked too much. If the meringue base did not reach stiff peaks, the resulting meringue will spread on the baking tray as you try to shape it. This would yeild a flat pavlova.

If you do happen to overbeat your meringue (which may end up looking clumpy and watery) you can try to save it by adding another egg white.

If the meringue is a lot flatter after baking then it is possible that the egg whites were whisked too much. The extra air expands in the oven and can overstretch the cells of whisked egg white, causing them to break and the meringue to collapse.

Sugar inhibits the eggwhite protein from forming bonds around air pockets, so the more sugar you incorporate, the less airy the foam will be. Adding the sugar too late and/or too slowly. Adding the sugar after the eggwhites form stiff peaks will create a mixture that is too airy.

While the egg whites are still being whisked slowly add the sugar. When all the sugar has been added scrape down the sides of the bowl. Continue whisking until the sugar has dissolved.

If you reduce the amount of the sugar syrup, you will reduce the overall temperature your egg whites get heated to, and that could reduce the stability.

A small amount of acidic ingredient, such as cream of tartar, acts as a stabilizing agent. A bit of lemon juice or vinegar will also work.