As promised, here is my recipe for Pavlova. If you don't know what a Pavlova is, it is an Australian desert that was inspired by the tour of the Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova sometime around 100 years ago. New Zealand tries to make the claim that the dessert is their own invention however, they can't be trusted because well, they are New Zealanders.

The dessert is a soft meringue made out of whipped egg whites and sugar and it is super easy to prepare and is pretty idiot proof which is why it is the only cake I know how to make (and also why New Zealanders feel comfortable claiming it as theirs).

Ingredients:

for the base

• 6 egg whites
• A cup of sugar
• A little vanilla extract
• A teaspoon of white vinegar
• 1/2 a tablespoon of corn flour

*preheat the oven to 130 C which is about 946 F (google it)

for the topping

• Whipped cream
• Fruit (strawberries, blueberries, banana, kiwi etc)

Firstly, make sure that your mixing bowl is clean and has no oil residue in it as if it does, the whites won't whip firm. Make sure.. You have been warned. Then separate the egg white from the yolk. If you don't know how to do this, Google it. However, make sure that you get no yolk into the mix because they are fatty and that means, no firm peaks. A ballerina dessert without firm peaks is well, a little flat. Wondering what happens with the egg yolks? Ask Google.

Then, start whipping those whites like it is bizarro 1750 in the deep south until they form soft peaks, and then start adding the cup of sugar a little at a time. As you can see, I am using the staple Finnish 'Marrimekko, Unikko' cup but a measuring cup will do just fine. This is a good time to mention, I just make stuff up when I cook so amounts are approximates. Keep whipping. Whip it, whip it good.

The eggs are whipped enough when they form very firm peaks and when you take a small amount and rub it between your fingers, you shouldn't feel sugar. After that, add the vinegar and the corn flour and lightly mix them in.

So now, on a lined baking tray, plonk the whipped egg whites in the middle and shape it into a cake-y type of shape. It will spread a little in the oven so don't spread it out too much, go high. And then it is off to the oven where it will sit for between 60 and 90 minutes depending on size and stuff however when ready-ish, it will go a nice soft cream color. My wife likes it hard - and she also likes the crust of the Pavlova hard so I cook it a little longer.

Watch your daughter stare at it in the oven and excitedly say, Smallsteps' cake! Then, explain to your daughter that it has egg, cream, strawberries and vanilla and you are allergic so no, it is Daddy's cake! and watch her happy little smile turn to a frown.

When it gets to where you want it to be, turn off the oven and wedge the door open with an oven mitt and allow it to cool completely. This will reduce the flattening of it however, I don't care too much what it looks like so, I let it cool about a half hour and then took it out onto the bench. As you can see from the picture, it looks pretty appetizing.

Then it is time to add the fruits. Often I use strawberries and blueberries but today, just went with strawberries because well, we forgot to buy blueberries. Kiwi and banana work well, some people put peach or pineapple... shivers.... Whip the cream up too and make it pretty firm but don't turn it into butter. Add the** vanilla essence** in the cream and a bit of sugar to taste (I used vanilla sugar because I forgot to buy essence).

So then (making sure the base is completely cool) slap the cream on top and then put whatever fruit you want on top** until the ugly is covered** and, it is ready.

The best thing about this dessert is that it is light considering the amount of sugar and cream so you can really pack a lot of it in. with 6 eggs, my wife and I ate about half of it already but we are pigs. so you could get 8 slices out of it. The largest I have made had 12 eggs and served about 15 people. It is really easy and a great Summer dessert and can be made a day or two before hand and stored in an airtight container somewhere cool and away from animals and New Zealanders.

Give it a go and let me know if you enjoyed it :)

This is one of the most work intensive posts I have ever done... lol.

Taraz
[ a Steem original ]