Soft and delicious, this sugar-free Apricot Pavlova is a light summer dessert topped with Greek yoghurt and sweet roasted apricots. Perfect for warm-weather entertaining and special occasions.
It’s an easy make-ahead dessert that looks impressive on the table, with a soft marshmallow centre that pairs beautifully with the fruit.
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Recipe Inspiration
Sometimes you want dessert but you don’t want it to be too full of sugar. I thought I would try making a sugar-free pavlova using sweetener instead of sugar, to have a dessert I can enjoy without guilt.
By swapping the sugar for granulated sweetener I thought I could make a summery light dessert which would be perfect for a healthy eating plan as well. My sugar-free apricot pavlova was the delicious result.
Making the most of the gorgeous summer fruit which is in season now, and using no-fat Greek yoghurt in place of double cream for the filling, this dessert deserves a place in your summer menu!
How to Roast Apricots
To make the apricots soft and tender, I roast them in the oven with a sprinkle of sugar over them. This makes them deepen in flavour.
You can also drizzle over some honey before roasting if you want to make them even sweeter.
The flowers I used to decorate were some basil herb flowers from my garden, they added a lovely herb flavour as well as a dash of colour.
How to Make Meringue with Sweetener
So did you know you can make meringue using sweetener, for a sugar-free pavlova?
Because sweetener is so sweet, you don’t use as much of it as you would sugar, and because it is often like powder in texture, you don’t need to whisk it in in quite the same way as you make a meringue with egg white and sugar.
The sweetener goes right in at the start and you whisk the eggs until they form stiff peaks.
I used a stevia based sweetener, a supermarket own brand, in granulated form, though it is actually more like a powder.
A little cornflour and cream of tartar is added to make sure the centre of the meringue is soft.
The texture of the meringue is not the same as a meringue made with sugar, it is softer.
Because of this you need to make sure when you spread out your meringue on your lined baking sheet, that the meringue is deep enough.
If it is too thin in places it will be difficult to peel off the baking paper after cooking and keep the meringue in one piece.
So use a small plate as a guide and make sure your meringue is about an inch deep and even throughout.
Healthier Meringue Filling
To fill my pavlova, I used another healthy swap, 0% fat Greek yoghurt.
Greek yoghurt is thick and creamy (even when 0% fat) and is a great alternative to whipped cream in this sugar-free pavlova.
I know some people find the taste of Greek yoghurt too sour, and if you do you can add a little vanilla extract or honey if you like to tone it down.
Spoon the Greek yoghurt over your cooked pavlova, then top the Greek yoghurt with the roasted apricots, then decorate with edible flowers, if using. A pretty and light summer dessert which looks great!
Related
- apricot and almond traybake
- peach and apricot jam from Fab Food 4 All
- apricot curd
- apricot flapjacks
- pomegranate and kiwi crown pavlova
- blood orange and pineapple pavlovas from Farmersgirl Kitchen
Recipe
Sugar-free Apricot Pavlova
Ingredients
- 4 apricots
- 1 tsp caster sugar (superfine sugar)
- 2 egg whites
- 1.5 tbsp (1½ tbsp) Stevia sweet granulated sweetener
- 1 tbsp cornflour
- 1 tsp cream of tartar
- 150 g (½ cups + 2 tbsp) 0% fat Greek yoghurt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180℃ / 350℉. Halve the apricots and remove the stone and place them in a baking dish. Sprinkle over the caster sugar.4 apricots, 1 tsp caster sugar (superfine sugar)
- Roast the apricots for 25 to 30 minutes until tender. Allow to cool. Turn the oven down to 100℃ / 210℉.
- Place the egg whites and Stevia granulated sweetener in a stand mixer and whisk together until the egg white forms stiff peaks.2 egg whites, 1.5 tbsp / 1½ tbsp Stevia sweet granulated sweetener
- Fold in the cornflour and cream of tartar carefully.1 tbsp cornflour, 1 tsp cream of tartar
- Line a baking sheet with baking paper. Use a few blobs of the meringue to fix the baking paper to the baking sheet.
- Spoon the meringue onto the baking paper and form a disc about an inch deep.
- Once the oven is at 100℃ / 210℉, put the meringue in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until firm. Turn off the oven and open the door and leave the meringue in there to cool for an hour or so until cold.
- Once cool, carefully peel off the baking paper, ensuring you don’t break the meringue.
- Fill the meringue with the Greek yoghurt and top with the roasted apricots. Decorate if desired. Serve.150 g / ½ cups + 2 tbsp 0% fat Greek yoghurt
Camilla Hawkins says
Well you learn something new every day! I never knew that you could make Pavlova with Stevia! What a fab sugar free treat
bakingqueen74 says
thanks Camilla! 🙂