Pavlova

I'd never heard of it before coming to the UK. That is the national dessert of Australia - The Pavlova. I first heard of it on the show, Masterchef Australia.

Pavlova is basically a meringue topped with whipped cream and fresh berries. It is held up as a challenging dessert to get right as a result of the meringue. I tracked down the Masterchef Australia Recipe and also watched a few How-to videos on YouTube.com. From these I felt up to the task to make it for our Easter Dinner dessert.



I got up early that morning to make the meringue, which after an hour in the oven at 100 degrees Celsius came out nice an fluffy. It collapsed a little in the middle, but it was still crusty on the outside and light and marshmallowy on the inside.



Just before serving, I whipped up the whip cream and topped it with some fresh cut strawberries, blueberries, and kiwi fruit - the traditional fruits served on it.

It was a delicious, light, warm weather dessert. I can't wait to make it again this summer.

Here is the recipe if you want to try making it.

Australian Masterchef Pavlova

The ingredients are:

150ml egg white
220g caster sugar
2 tbs corn flour (or corn starch), sifted
2 tps white vinegar

Whipped Cream

Fresh Berries and Kiwi Fruit

The method is:

1. Preheat oven to 150°C.

2. Place the eggwhite in the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk until stiff peaks form. Gradually add the sugar, whisking well, until the mixture is stiff and glossy. Add the cornflour and vinegar and whisk until just combined. Shape the mixture into an 18cm round on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper.

3. Reduce oven to 120°C and bake for 1 hour 20 minutes. Turn the oven off and allow the pavlova to cool completely in the oven.

4. Top with Whipped Cream and some fresh cut berries and Kiwi fruit.