or scroll for handy tips and a little nostalgia.
This Neapolitan Pavlova recipe takes the traditional pavlova and adds layers of those classic Neapolitan flavours – chocolate, vanilla and strawberry.
Disclaimer!
I absolutely love the traditional pavlova and have always watched on in horror as celebrity chefs add their own special touch with weird and not-so-wonderful variations of the much-loved pav.
But I am willing to be a little flexible.
I did succumb to the Pavlova Grazing Board trend, which accomodates different preferences and is a great option for parties.
Here, I started experimenting and have taken the very first recipe I published on this blog – Nana Ling’s Neapolitan Cake – as inspiration for a pavlova variation that looks AND tastes quite special.
Why you’ll LOVE this Neapolitan Pavlova Recipe
Neapolitan Cake has been around for even longer than the pavlova, and most people love the strawberry, chocolate and vanilla flavour combo.
This pavlova variation brings in this popular flavour combination and, like the cake, is such a visually spectacular dessert.
The cocoa powder adds a slight bitter element, pulling back the sweetness just a little to create a lovely background to all that sweetness.
The fact that this pavlova is built with three flatter pavlova layers also means that you should avoid any dramas around collapsing pavlovas.
Ingredients for Neapolitan Pavlova
The ingredients you’ll need to make the pavlovas are:
- egg whites
- salt
- caster sugar / superfine sugar
- vanilla extract
- white vinegar
- cocoa powder
- pink food colouring and strawberry food flavouring.
Fillings and toppings
To fill and decorate, you’ll also need:
- thickened cream / heavy cream
- extra cocoa powder
- icing sugar
- extra pink food colouring
- strawberries.
The ingredient measurements can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.
How to make Neapolitan Pavlova
Prepping
You’ll need to preheat your oven to 120 degrees celsius / 250 degrees fahrenheit and line 3 baking trays (or round bottoms from a round springform pan or round pizza trays) with baking paper.
Making the pavlovas
As you can see from the pictures, this pavlova is actually three layers of pavlova – a chocolate pavlova on the bottom, a traditional pavlova in the middle and a strawberry pavlova to top things off.
You start off making this layered pavlova just as you would a regular pavlova. Beat the egg whites and salt on medium-high speed until the mixture forms soft peaks.
Add the sugar gradually while mixing on low speed. Then return to med-high speed and beat for another two minutes.
TIP: The mixture should look thick and glossy and there should be no sugar granules when you rub the mixture between two fingers – if not, continue beating for another minute.
Return the mixture to low speed and add vanilla extract and vinegar. Mix until combined.
Next, things start to get a little different.
Divide the mixture into three equal portions in separate bowls. Stir cocoa powder into one portion and the pink colouring and strawberry flavouring into another.
Spoon each portion onto a lined tray, creating a circle about 17cm in diameter.
Using a spatula or flat knife, even out the top and brush up the sides of the circle. This will give the shape a slightly domed effect and help with the stability or your pavlova. Make sure the top of the pavlova is flat.
Place the pavlovas in the pre-heated oven and cook for 60 minutes.
Turn the oven off after the cooking time elapses but DO NOT open the oven door. Leave the pavlovas to cool in the oven for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
Once completely cool, remove from the oven and carefully remove the baking paper from the bottom of each pavlova.
Whipping the cream
Divide the cream into 3 separate bowls, with 200ml in each bowl.
Place the cocoa powder in one bowl, the icing sugar in another and the pink food colouring in another.
Beat the cream and the other ingredients in each bowl until soft peaks form.
TIP: Don’t overbeat to form stiff peaks as you will risk crushing the pavlovas as you decorate them.
Assembling your Neapolitan Pavlova
Place the chocolate pavlova on the serving plate. Spread the cocoa and cream mixture on top.
Carefully place the plain pavlova on top of chocolate cream. Spread icing sugar cream mixture on top.
Carefully place the pink pavlova on top of plain cream. Spread pink cream on top and decorate with strawberries.
If you love the recipe, please leave a rating or comment below. Thanks! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Recipe FAQs
Q. How long does pavlova keep?
Keep your pavlova in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Q. What other pavlova recipes do you have?
I also have recipes for Nana Ling’s handwritten pavlova recipe from 1941, a summer fruits pavlova grazing board, pavlova nests and a Christmas Pavlova.
Neapolitan Pavlova
Ingredients
Pavlova
- 6 egg whites
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 1/2 cups caster sugar / superfine sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons white vinegar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- pink food colouring and strawberry food flavouring
Whipped cream
- 600 ml thickened cream / heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon icing sugar
- pink food colouring
Topping
- 5 strawberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 120 degrees celsius / 250 degrees fahrenheit.
- Line 3 baking trays (or round bottoms from a round springform pan or round pizza trays) with baking paper.
- Beat egg whites and salt on medium-high speed until the mixture forms soft peaks.
- Add sugar gradually while mixing on low speed. Then return to med-high speed and beat for another two minutes. The mixture should look thick and glossy and there should be no granules when you rub the mixture between two fingers – if not, continue beating for another minute.
- Return mixture to low speed and add vanilla extract and vinegar. Mix until combined.
- Divide mixture into three equal portions in separate bowls. Stir cocoa powder into one portion and the pink colouring and strawberry flavouring into another.
- Pour each portion onto a lined tray, creating a circle about 17cm in diameter. Using a spatula of flat knife, even out the top and brush up the sides of the circle towards. This will give the shape a slightly domed effect and help with the stability or your pavlova. Make sure the top of the pavlova is flat.
- Place the pavlovas in the pre-heated oven and cook for 60 minutes.
- Turn oven off after cooking time elapses but DO NOT open the oven door. Leave the pavlova to cool in the oven for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
- Once completely cool, remove from the oven and carefully remove the baking paper from the bottom of each pavlova.
Decorating
- Divide the cream into 3 separate bowls, with 200ml in each bowl. Place the cocoa powder in one bowl, the icing sugar in another and the pink food colouring in another.
- Beat cream and the other ingredients in each bowl until soft peaks form. Don't overbeat to form stiff peaks as you will risk crushing the pavlova as you decorate it.
- Place chocolate pavlova shell on the serving plate. Spread the cocoa and cream mixture on top. Carefully place plain pavlova shell on top of chocolate cream. Spread icing sugar cream mixture on top. Carefully place pink pavlova shell on top of plain cream. Spread pink cream on top and decorate with strawberries.