Delicious Fairy Bread Pavlova: A Kid-Friendly Christmas Treat

This year, I wanted to take the classic Kiwi kids’ treat, fairy bread, a step further and turn it into a special Christmas dessert for my grand nephew. For those who haven’t tried it, fairy bread is simply white bread, buttered and sprinkled with hundreds and thousands — a favourite at kids’ parties here in New Zealand.

I used my usual pavlova base instead of making two meringues as in the original recipe, then topped it with colourful fairy bread lamingtons, strawberry-flavoured white chocolate truffles, swirls of pink, blue and white cream, and a few chocolate shards sprinkled with hundreds and thousands for extra fun. The pavlova is crisp on the outside, soft and marshmallowy on the inside, and the little lamingtons and truffles dress it up beautifully.

My Take on the Recipe

I adapted the original recipe from Australian Taste magazine, using my own pavlova recipe for the base but keeping their idea for the topping. I also added truffles instead of the white chocolate drizzle called for in the original recipe.

For the lamingtons, I used store-bought sponge, which makes it much quicker to assemble while still keeping the fun, colourful effect. The truffles are made with a simple mix of white chocolate and cream, with ground freeze-dried strawberries added for flavour, then rolled in hundreds and thousands.

The pavlova, lamingtons and truffles can all be made ahead of time, which makes assembling the dessert on the day nice and easy. The swirled pink, blue and white cream creates a festive base for the toppings. It’s a playful dessert that works well for Christmas, or any time you want something fun — especially for little ones like my grand nephew.

What Nisha Thought

Nisha tried a slice and loved it — I think the colours caught her attention just as much as the flavours. She did say the truffles were a bit sickly, and I agree. Making them about half the size next time would be more than enough.

What I’d Do Differently

I was pleasantly surprised at how well it all turned out. As usual, I made the pavlova the day before and left it in the oven overnight. I then took all the separate elements to our Christmas venue and put it together after the main meal.

Assembling it on the day was actually quite fun and much easier than I expected. The swirled cream was quick to make and gave the pavlova a nice colourful base. Once everything was on top, it was definitely hard to miss and made a bit of a show on the table!

The truffles were probably a little too big. A small mouthful would have been plenty, so next time I’d make half the amount and roll them much smaller. The lamingtons were easy enough to do, although the sponge could have been firmer, which meant I had to cut them larger than planned.

Overall, it was a fun dessert to make and well worth the effort. It looked festive, brought a few smiles, and was perfect for Christmas with kids around. I’d love to make it again.

Recipe

To print the recipe, simply click the ‘Print’ button below and save your PDF for easy reference!

Fairy Bread Pavlova

Servings: 12–14
Prep Time: 45 mins
Cook Time: 120 mins
Difficulty: medium
Rating: ★★★★★
Print

A colourful, fun pavlova featuring fairy bread inspired lamingtons, truffles and a swirled pink, blue and white cream topping — perfect for a special dessert.

Tip: Make the pavlova, lamingtons, truffles and chocolate shards a day ahead for easier assembly. Keep pavlova in a dry place until ready to use.

Recipe Credit: Adapted from Taste.com.au.

Video: The original recipe inspiration can be seen here: video.

Ingredients

For the Pavlova:

6 egg whites (at room temperature)
2 cups caster sugar
2 tablespoons cornflour
1 tablespoon malt vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Lamingtons:

315 g packet madeira cake or sponge cake
120 g (1 cup) hundreds and thousands
150 g (1 cup) icing sugar
20 g butter, at room temperature
2 tbsp boiling water

For the White Chocolate Truffles:

125 ml (½ cup) cream
250 g white chocolate, chopped
Strawberry flavouring (freeze-dried strawberry slices ground to a powder)
Hundreds and thousands, to roll

For the Chocolate Shards:

250 g white chocolate
Hundreds and thousands, to sprinkle

For the Topping:

500 ml cream
Pink and blue food colouring, to tint
Freeze-dried strawberries, crushed
1 punnet fresh strawberries, halved
Lamingtons
White chocolate truffles

Directions

Pavlova:

Preheat – Preheat the oven to 180°C (regular bake).
Whip Egg Whites – In a clean bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.
Add Sugar – Gradually add sugar, one spoon at a time, beating continuously. This should take about 10 minutes. Add the first cup slowly, then the second cup a little faster.
Stop Beating – Once all sugar is incorporated, stop beating.
Mix Dry Ingredients – Sprinkle over cornflour, vinegar and vanilla. Gently mix in without overbeating.
Shape Pavlova – Spoon mixture onto a baking tray lined with baking paper and shape as desired.
Bake – Place in the oven, then immediately reduce temperature to 130°C. Bake for 1 hour.
Cool – Turn off oven and leave pavlova inside to cool completely without opening the door.
Serve – Transfer to a serving plate. Add topping just before serving.

Lamingtons:

Prepare Lamingtons: Remove icing and trim dark edges from cake. Cut into 2 cm pieces. Mix icing sugar and butter, pour over boiling water and stir until smooth. Dip cake pieces into icing, tap off excess, then roll in hundreds and thousands. Set for 30 minutes.

Truffles:

Prepare Truffles: Heat cream until just below boiling. Add chopped chocolate and stand for 5 minutes, then whisk until smooth (reheat gently if needed). Chill until firm, about 2 hours. Roll into 1–2 teaspoon-sized balls and coat in hundreds and thousands. Store in the fridge until serving, or freeze in a sealed container.

Chocolate Shards:

Make Chocolate Shards: Line a tray with baking paper. Melt chocolate in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until smooth. Spread chocolate onto tray over supports to form waves. Sprinkle with hundreds and thousands. Set for 20 minutes.

Topping:

Whip Cream: Beat cream until firm peaks form. Tint one-third pale pink and one-third pale blue. Fold back into remaining cream for a swirled three-colour effect. Spoon into a piping bag fitted with a fluted nozzle.
Assemble Pavlova: Pipe or spoon cream onto pavlova. Arrange lamingtons and truffles on top. Finish with chocolate shards, crushed freeze-dried strawberries and fresh strawberries to fill any gaps.