Pillowy mounds of luscious cream resting on top of the sweet, crisp-but-chewy meringue and topped with deliciously tart, boozy, gin-soaked raspberries - this grown-up take on the classic pavlova is everything we’ve ever wanted in a dessert! What’s more, it’s really easy to make at home, hurrah!

You could use a standard London Dry gin to marinade the raspberries in this recipe, however, we prefer using a raspberry-flavoured gin like Manchester Gin Raspberry Infused or Warner’s Raspberry Gin to really accentuate that berry-licious flavour.

Of course, you can always make your own homemade raspberry gin too, click here to find our fantastic homemade raspberry gin recipe!

For an extra layer of decadence, you can drizzle your meringue with melted white chocolate before adding your cream and boozy raspberry topping. Not strictly necessary, but those with a sweet tooth will be in ecstasies!

Raspberry Ripple Gin Pavlova

To make the Meringue:
6 egg whites, room temperature
350g caster sugar
1/4 tsp cornflour
1/2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

To make the Raspberry Ripple Gin Coulis:
200g fresh raspberries
100ml raspberry gin
4tbsp caster sugar

To make the (white chocolate and) vanilla cream:
150g white chocolate, melted (optional)
600ml double cream
1tsp vanilla extract
200g fresh raspberries

  To start, put the fresh raspberries (for the coulis) in a bowl, pour over the gin and and leave it to steep in the fridge while you make the meringue. Preheat the oven to 160C/140C fan and line a baking tray with baking parchment.

    To make the meringue, add the egg whites to a free-stand mixer and whisk until they form stiff peaks. Gradually add the sugar, making sure it is well combined after each addition, and whisk briefly until the meringue looks glossy. Whisk in the corn flour, vanilla extract and vinegar.

    Use a round dinner plate to draw a circle in pencil on the bottom of the baking paper and turn it over. Now pour the meringue mixture out onto the tray and, using a spatula and the pencil lines underneath to guide you, spread out the mixture into an even, spherical layer.

    Turn down the oven to 140C/120C fan and bake the meringue on a middle shelf for an hour. Once the pavlova has baked, turn off the oven and let the meringue cool completely in the oven.

    Whilst the meringue cools, make the raspberry ripple gin coulis by adding the steeped berries and gin liquid to a saucepan. Add the sugar and set over a low heat, stirring gently, until the raspberries begin to break up and the sugar has fully dissolved. Remove from the heat and place the mixture into a food processor and blitz until smooth. Push the raspberry mixture through a sieve and then set aside to cool.

    (Optional: Melt the white chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of boiling water (or in the microwave on a very low heat/short time - ten seconds might be all you need!). Once the chocolate has melted, paint the top of the cooled meringue and leave the chocolate to set.)

    Meanwhile, add the double cream and vanilla extract to a bowl and whisk until soft peaks form. Spoon the whipped vanilla cream over the white chocolate-covered meringue, and then drizzle over the raspberry gin coulis. Top with fresh raspberries to decorate.

This dessert should be served immediately once constructed. You can make the meringue in advance and it will keep for 2-3 days if stored in an air tight container.