PAVLOVA

What a great way to finish off a meal!  It just melts in your mouth and the fruits makes it a refreshing dessert.  The last recipe for BIRTHDAY month is Pavlova!!

G’day Mate!!  🙂   To my Ausie friend, this dessert is dedicated to you.  I had the pleasure of tasting this dessert back when I was living in Canada.  My Australian friend made it for us after dinner and it was something that I could never forget.  The meringue is just perfect and the whipped cream and fruit topping just takes it to another level.  I love this dessert!!

This dessert has a unique history.  It is believed to be name after a famous Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova, who did her tour to Australia and New Zealand in 1926.  Both countries are still claiming that it originates from their country.  I’m just happy that this dessert were made!  The traditional Pavlova is usually made as a Christmas day dessert.  But for me, this is one dessert that can be made anytime and for anyone!

Pavlova is one of those dessert that looks beautiful and fancy, yet it only needs 4 ingredients to make the meringue.  Egg whites, castor sugar, cornstarch and vinegar.  As for the whipped cream, you only need 3 things; heavy cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract.  And some fruits!!  Really simple.  One important thing that you really need for this recipe is time.  This is not one of those recipe that you can rush.  It is actually better to make a day ahead so it can cool in the oven for a while.

To start making this recipe, you want to get your eggs and sugar ready.  Measure the eggs with a food scale.  Eggs differ in size and white so using a food scale is one way to get exact measurement.  I suggest getting one especially if you love to bake.  They are inexpensive (less than $20) and you can get them at any grocery stores.

Now the castor sugar.  Castor sugar is another word for superfine sugar.  It is in the middle between granulated sugar and powdered sugar.  It is rare that I find rare sugar in the store so I usually use my chopper (or you can use the food processor) to make them.  You want it to be fine but not too fine that it becomes powdered sugar.

Meringue time!!  When you are making meringue, it is better not to be far away or multitask from the mixture.  You want to really see how it changes to see what stage your egg white is at any given time.

It will start as a foamy shape.  Keep on mixing until you get to a soft peak form like so.

Slowly add one tablespoon at a time, the castor sugar.  Sprinkle away!!!

After that, mix again for a few minutes.  Rub a little bit of the egg whites using 2 fingers and see if it has any grits.  If it feels smooth, that means you are ready for the cornstarch and vinegar.

I like to sift my cornstarch just because I want to make sure that there are no clumps.  After that add your vinegar.  Remember, sprinkles!!

Mix again for a few minutes until you have a shiny, white, glossy mixture.  One way to test it is to flip your bowl upside down.  If if does not move, that means it’s ready!!

To prepare the pan, dab four corners of the pan like the picture below.  This is to keep the parchment paper from moving when putting the meringue on the baking sheet.  You can draw on the underside of the parchment paper a 9 inch circle as a guide or you can use the bottom of a springform pan.

Lay the parchment paper on top of the springform pan and this is what you get.

From this point on, shape the meringue into a dome.  Then bring the sides so it becomes high and the flatten so that you can put the whipped cream and the fruit in the middle of the meringue.

Gently put it in the oven, turn down the oven temperature and now you have 1 1/2 hour to read a book, fold the laundry, or anything your desire.  When the timer is off, turn off the oven and walk away!  Do not peek, do not check on it.  The patience will pay off when you take that first bite into this Pavlova!!  🙂

When the meringue is done, prepare the whipped cream and the fruits.  Great thing about this dessert is you can make the meringue ahead of time and then when it’s dessert time, you can just do the assembly 5 minutes before.

After you assemble it, you will have this beautiful, melt in your mouth, delicious, and rich dessert.  Enjoy!!

Tips for making Pavlova:

• The egg whites should be room temperature.
• Leave the Pavlova overnight to cool and not at room temperature.  That way you will get the marshmallowy center that is oh so delicious.
• Don’t forget to lower the temperature after you put the tray in the oven.

Happy Baking!!!