I don't know about you, but I simply love to prepare berries desserts during this time of year. Unfortunately, until now, the weather was not very friendly. So, even though it is half of June, I only managed to make one dish so far - Hot and Cold Mindblowing Dessert.

It was about time to change this, and for that, I went ahead and made a pavlova recipe. I chose this dish because it is a very versatile dessert that can be prepared in more than one way. Truth be told, you can go wild when it comes to pavlova toppings and choose whatever fruits or cream you wish.

But let's not linger anymore, and let me tell you how to make a pavlova with vanilla custard and berries.

• The first thing you will want to do is to preheat the oven at 130 degrees Celsius (270 F).
• While this happens, add the egg whites to your mixing bowl and start mixing at high speed for 1-2 minutes. When the eggs start to thicken, lower the speed and start pouring in the icing sugar one tbsp at a time. Incorporate everything, then add the cornstarch, vanilla, salt and vinegar.
• Return speed to high and mix until you get nice glossy peaks.

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• Line an oven tray with parchment paper.
• With a spoon start creating a circle out of the egg wash mixture. Start building on top of it, making sure to create thicker walls and some kind of well in the middle. Of course, you can play to create peaks, but I personally am not very good at this part, so I skip it.

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• Reduce the oven heat to 100 degrees Celsius (210 F) and place the tray on the middle rack of the oven—Bake for 90 minutes without opening the oven door.
• When ready, open the oven door but don't take the tray out. Let your pavlova cool down completely in there.
• While this happens, start making the custard.
• Heat the milk in a saucepan but don't let it reach the boiling point.
• In a mixing bowl, combine the egg yolks with sugar, vanilla sugar, vanilla paste, and cornstarch. Using a whisk, mix well until you get a nice golden paste.
• Start pouring the warm milk over, stirring continuously. This is known as tempering and is meant to keep your eggs from getting scrambled.
• Return the egg-milk composition back into the saucepan and start making the custard. You should keep the saucepan at low heat on your stove and stir without stopping until the custard is formed.

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• If you don't feel comfortable with this process, I strongly recommend using a double boiler.
• Regardless of how you choose to cook your vanilla custard, you will notice some bubbles in the middle of your pan that will let you know you are ready o take the pan off the heat.
• Add the butter and stir to combine. I personally like to make sure that I don't have any lumps in my custard, so I like passing it through a sieve.
• Using a piece of plastic wrap, cover the custard and let it cool down completely.
• When both the meringue and the custard have completely cooled, you can start assembly.
• Carefully top the meringue with the vanilla custard and then place the berries all over it.
• I don't have a method to decorate my cakes, and I am sure that you will do a better job than me. Also, you can make your own berry mixture, or you can use just one type. For this I used strawberries, blue berries and raspberries.

As you could see, this is a very easy pavlova recipe to make. All you need is a couple of hours, and you will be able to enjoy a delicate yet delicious dessert.

When it comes to the pavlova origin, you should know that it gets its name after a famous ballerina called Anna Pavlova. It is a dessert that was created at the beginning of the 20th century and was meant to honor her dancing tour in Australia.

Finally, if you wonder if this is the best pavlova recipe, I can only say this: if you like vanilla custard and berries, you simply won't be able to resist this treat.

* Don't forget to tag us on Instagram when making this pavlova recipe.