Sunday, July 11, 2010

Pavlova

Finally I had a chance to take a pic of a finished Pavlova in daylight, and am happy to share the recipe of one of my favorite summer desserts.

Since my Pavlova post a couple of weeks ago, I have learnt a lot of new things about it, most importantly (thanks to Faux Fuchsia), that it is Australia's national pudding. Another friend has mailed me a fun article called 'Pavlova Palaver', which goes into depth into the dispute whether the dessert is of Australian or NZ origin. The point everyone agrees on, is that it's named after the russian dancer Anna Pavlova, who visited Australia and New Zealand in the 1920s. When staying at the Esplanade hotel in Perth, the kitchen chef served her a meringue, topped with cream and fresh fruit, and called it Pavlova in her honour.

Ingredients (for four)
4 egg whites
1 pinch of salt

160 gram sugar (40gr per egg white)
1.5 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp white wine vinegar

Fresh summer fruit ( strawberries, raspberries, black and red currents, blueberries, blackberries etc), ca 600 gram

Whisk the egg whites and the pinch of salt on high speed until stiff peaks form.

Continue to whisk, while slowly adding the sugar. Then add the corn starch and vinegar, and whisk until all is combined.

Place the meringue mass on a baking sheet, lined with parchment

start flattening it with the help of a palette knife..

and shape into a disc of 15 - 20 cm (after baking, it will be flatter and wider)

Place in preheated oven (140 degrees Celsius) and immediately turn the temperature down to 100. Bake for two hours (don't open the oven door in the meantime) then switch the oven off, and let the meringue cool off inside.

This is how the baked meringue looks like..

Next, whisk 350 ml cream until stiff, and add sugar to the desired sweetness. Place cream on top of the meringue. Top with fresh summer berries, and sift icing sugar on top.

Voilà! Here a previous version, having used three egg whites


Tips:

To adapt the recipe for different numbers of people, count one egg white and 40 gram sugar per person. If you like a sweeter taste, you could increase the sugar to 50-60 gram per person, as some recipes suggest. Proportion the cornstarch and white wine vinegar accordingly. No need to measure though, just add or take away a little bit.

For the success of the meringue, make sure the whisking bowl and whisker have no traces of grease, and the egg whites no traces of egg yolk.

To avoid discarding the egg yolks, I used one of them to make a pastry case, and the rest for a batch of muffins, replacing two of the whole eggs with three yolks. For recipes, click the thumbnails below.

In very hot weather, place the mixing bowl, whisker and the cream half an hour prior to whisking into your freezer. It helps to get the cream stiff.

Bon appétit!

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33 comments:

  1. Thanks for the recipe. I can't wait to try this. It's such a pretty dessert with an interesting name and history.

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  2. Have fun baking, dear Stephanie, and please let me know how it turned out! :-)

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  3. WOW!!! CONGRATULATIONS MaiTai this looks scrumptious!! wish I was invited round to sample(my sweet tooth makes me a good judge of sweets !!!) A triumph ! and so so appetising,well done !! Amou.

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  4. Of course you are invited, dear Amou! I'll make an extra large one, so all the other girls can join too.. it's going to be quite a party!

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  5. NO Deal ....I want that extra large one ALL to myself !!! I'm FAR too greedy to share !!! ....but maybe in such great company I could restrain myself and generously agree to share this once !!Amou

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  6. Okay Amou, I'll make two then :D

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  7. Now thats GENEROUS !! I will bring suitable beverage for all and a sneaky doggy bag for any left overs !!AS IF !!!

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  8. A suitable beverage, now that IS generous, dear Amou. Pink champagne comes into mind... hehe! Doggie bags will remain empty though, so far there never have been any leftovers, lol!

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  9. Yummy!! This is truly delicious, and we miss it already! Hope I get it right the next time I try the recipe out again =P

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  10. I am sure you will, dearest DD. Otherwise, come back for a tutorial! <3

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  11. De Venoge Brut Rose champage it is then !! Cheers ! Amou

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  12. Uhm!...It looks so beautiful and I am sure it is delicious! Thank you for the recipe, dear MaiTai. I can´t wait to try it! Mxx

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  13. I can see it now...all of the girls carrying 'en parade' the Pavlova and the bubbly into the beautiful Effet Mer for a glorious afternoon! And of course led by the elegant MT:-)
    xx T

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  14. Wow, that looks delish,yum yum, as a student I once made baked alaska for a dinner party and there was loads left and for some reason we decided the best way to get rid of it was to flush it down the loo, it was like the iceberg that sank the Titanic, disaster.... you would never have this problem as there would never be any left of your fab pavlova...

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  15. Pavlova is a wonderful summer dessert! Another Australian topping would be passionfruit which is wonderful because the tartness of the fruit cuts through the sweetness of the pav and the richness of the cream. I quite often top it with bananas, strawberries and passionfruit which is a great mix, but if you have access to all those fabulous berries then that's wonderful! Berries are so seasonal it's great to take advantage of them when they are around and I love how they have beautiful berries in baskets in France. So pretty!

    Champagne would be a wonderful complementary beverage - you could also try a sparkling pink moscato!

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  16. My dearest MaiTai, Thank you for this amazing culinary delight! Your vivid photos capture it all - I can almost smell and taste your heavenly creation with my eyes.

    

I can't tell you how much this post means to me - today would have been my beloved late mother-in-law's birthday. She was an extraordinary person and a cook - never made a Pavlova, but often made a magical strawberry cake for my birthdays we spent together. So thank you, dearest MaiTai. Hugs xx

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  17. Oops...Sorry MaiTai, I seem to be clumsy with the publish button today. Honestly, I don't know how much longer I can just keep looking at your mouthwateringly sumptuous dessert ;-) x

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  18. Hi There MaiTai
    Looks like a magnificent pav (as we call them here in Australia). I am from Perth and we definitely claim the honour of inventing this dessert. C'est magnifique!
    Julie

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  19. This really makes my mouth water. I cook, but I don't bake - once again you've managed to temp me into trying something new! Will send pics of (most likely) terrible results as soon as I get to it. Ha, ha. But how about I also stop by for the Pavlova-Party, bringing some refreshing white wine with me (as there is definitly no point in dragging along a box of champagne, LOL)

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  20. Dear Maitai,
    your Pav looks Fab! Thankyou for mentioning me- Australians have a pav on Christmas Day, at Easter,on Australia Day, Birthdays- it really is our National Pudding! x

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  21. Oh MaiTai, the Pavlova looks amazing. Thank you for sharing your recipe. The pictures, especially the one of how to shape the egg whites, were very helpful.... Have a wonderful week!!

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  22. I haven't made a Pavlova in, I bet, about five years, but after seeing this one, I'm going to pull out the recipe again and wait for a relatively dry day in Atlanta in hopes of a non-sticky meringue!

    This is just gorgeous. I used to make individual ones too, but this is far more spectacular.

    I doubt your guests realize how lucky they are!

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  23. Oh yummy, MaiTai!
    I almost ran out to get a spoon, before realizing the Pavlova was only a photo...
    I also really enjoyed the seaside dinner pictures.
    And you look radiant in your florals - as usual!
    xox

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  24. Thank you, dear Manuela, and good luck! x

    What a glorious picture you have painted, dear Trudye, hugs!

    Haha dear Blighty, only you can make disasters sound funny!! I hope this time no icebergs!

    Many thanks for your wonderful suggestions, dear Miss Kitty-Cat, I have never thought of trying out the fruits you have mentioned. I have only ever made this dessert in summer, but my family will be grateful to you for the new ‘winter Pavlova’ which will definitely be introduced later this year ! PS Must try a sparkling pink moscato too :-)

    My dear Scarf Enthusiast, I can imagine how extraordinary this coincidence must have felt, it gives you a jolt that is almost electric. So hard to loose someone beloved, and their birthdays are so very special. Warm hugs to you xx

    Hi Julie, so great to have a comment from the official Pavlova home town!! Merci!!!

    One of the great thing about the Pavlova is, that you don’t really need to know how to bake, it is more of an 'assembly job', my dear hair-mess! Even if the result turns out 'so so', you can still throw it all together into a bowl, and call it ‘Eton mess’, a pudding served in England’s famous boarding school.

    Dear Faux Fuchsia, I am so honoured by your seal of approval! You will find it hard to believe how unknown the Pavlova is here, most of our friends have never had one before, but I can assure you they have all turned into fans! :-)

    Thank you, dear SMR. Glad you found the step-by-step useful, and have a wonderful week too! x

    I never knew about the humidity hazard when making meringue, thank you for closing the gap, dear Jerrine. I very much like the idea of individual ones too, how cute it must look! Hope to make a Pavlova for you one day <3

    Haha, too funny, dear dance! Happy you enjoyed the posts, have a wonderful week! <3

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  25. MaiTai
    Thanks for sharing I look forward to making this soon. Blessings -P

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  26. Have fun, dear Penney, and thank you :-)

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  27. I know I'm late to chime in but I was away for a few days...I wanted to thank you for sharing your recipe for the pavlova. It looks scrumptious and mouth watering. Now we need a nice glass of champagne to go with this wonderful dessert.

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  28. Welcome back, dear booksnchocolate, hope you had a wonderful break. Great that you joined the party, and yes, we definitely need more champagne! x

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  29. It's so pretty I could just eat the picture (and the entire pavlova). I just want a job taste-testing your desserts, please! :)

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  30. The job is yours, my dear Pauillac! <3

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  31. i will need to make this soon! looks really really delicious:D

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  32. Thank you, casiewbao, and good luck! :-)

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