Pavlova

Pavlova Recipe

Ingredients-

6 egg whites, room temperature

Pinch of salt

1 ½ cups superfine sugar

1 tbsp cornstarch

2 tsp vinegar

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups whipped cream

3 cups fresh fruit

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper, and use a plate or pie tin to draw a 9-inch circle in the middle of the paper with a pencil. Turn the paper over so the circle is on the bottom.

2. Add the egg whites and salt to the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on high until the whites form soft peaks, about one minute. With the mixer still running, slowly add the sugar and beat on high for another minute or so until the whites hold firm, shiny peaks.

3. Remove the bowl from the mixer and sift the cornstarch over the beaten whites. Add the vinegar and vanilla and gently fold them all into the whites with a spatula.

4. Scoop the meringue into a pile in the circle on the parchment paper and smooth them out with a spatula. Use the spatula to make a gentle depression in the middle of the meringue.

5. Reduce the oven heat to 250 degrees F. Place the meringue in the oven and bake for about 1 hour 15 minutes. Turn off the oven, leave the door closed, and let the meringue cool completely in the oven.

6. Carefully remove the pavlova from the baking sheet and center it on a serving platter. Spread the top evenly with whipped cream and arrange fruit nicely on the top. To serve, cut into wedges.

            This next recipe, called Pavlova, is a baked meringue topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit. It originated in both Australia and New Zealand, made to honor the talented Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova, who had visited those countries in the 1920’s. This delectable treat is sometimes called Pav, for short, and is now found in many parts of the world.

            I discovered this recipe at the same website as the Banana Fritters: www.whats4eats.com/desserts. The picture looked really good, so I decided to try it! The first step was fairly simple, but I had to call my grandma to make sure that wax paper wouldn’t burn in the oven. She said it wouldn’t and gave me another tip: make sure that none of the egg yolks mix with the egg whites, or else they won’t form peaks. That was probably one of the hardest parts in baking this recipe. I had to be very careful while cracking the eggs, so as to make sure I only got the egg whites. The fourth step says to scoop the meringue onto the wax paper and spread it out to fit the circle you drew. This was kind of tricky because my meringue was not as solid as I think it was supposed to be, so it spread out a little bit farther than the original circle was, and it was hard to make a very deep depression in it. But, everything turned out okay. After it finished cooling in the oven (which took about 2 extra hours), I took it out and piled the top with a tub of cool whip and my choice of fresh fruit; raspberries. I was debating between several different fruits, so my dad had to make the final decision for me. I have to admit – it was a good choice!

            Pavlova has a hard, crunchy outside, so parts of the crust broke off when I touched it. Since it was doing this, I decided to just leave it on the pan instead of transferring it to a serving tray. I didn’t want it to break apart any more than it already had. Despite the crispy outside part, the inside of the meringue was softer and resembled a marshmallow flavor and texture. It was really sweet and sugary, so the tartness of the raspberries really added to the overall taste. This dessert got great reviews from my family members, especially those who love raspberries. Pavlova is truly delicious and I will most likely be making this recipe again!