Cornflour In Pavlova | Ask Nigella.com (2024)

Our answer

Nigella's pavlovas, such as Lemon Pavlova (from SIMPLY NIGELLA), contain cornflour (cornstarch) in the meringue. The cornflour helps the meringue to stay soft in the centre, to give the contrast of crisp crust and marshmallowy interior. If you are allergic to corn then we understand that you can use potato starch as an alternative.

Make sure that you get potato starch, which is a fine white product that looks similar to cornstarch, and don't confuse it with potato flour, which is more of a cream colour and has a coarser texture. We would suggest substituting it on a 1 for 1 basis (i.e. use 2½ teaspoons of potato starch). Unfortunately we haven't tried this substitution ourselves, so can't guarantee the results.