Make Pavlova

Pavlova is a traditional Australian and New Zealand dessert dish. The dish's invention is claimed by both Austraila and New Zealand, leading to quabbles between the two nations. Legend says that it was created in honour of Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova on her visit to Australia and New Zealand for a ballet tour early in the 20th century. Regardless of who invented it, it's a fabulously fluffy and soft meringue dessert that can be graced by many different yummy toppings, such as whipped cream, strawberries and kiwifruit.

Ingredients

 * 4 egg whites (room temperature eggs)
 * Pinch salt (optional)
 * 155 gms/2/3 cup caster sugar (this is super fine white sugar)
 * 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
 * 3-4 drops pure vanilla essence (extract)
 * 1 tablespoon hot water
 * 300 ml/ 1 1/4 cups double cream (heavy or clotted cream) for topping
 * Strawberries, kiwis for topping; possibly passionfruit

Steps

 * 1) Assemble the ingredients.
 * 2) Preheat the oven at 150ºC (300ºF).
 * 3) Prepare a baking tray (round or rectangular is fine, as long as it's large enough for a dinner plate sized circle). Place baking paper or foil on the tray to prevent the mixture from sticking. Since this dessert is quite prone to sticking, if you are using foil, lightly spray some oil on it. The baking paper alone should usually suffice without spray.
 * 4) Separate the egg whites from the yolks. Keep the yolks for a different recipe, or make an omelette later.
 * 5) Beat the egg whites with a food mixer on high speed for about 5 minutes, or beat with an egg whisk, until stiff peaks form. If using the salt (optional), add it at this step.
 * 6) Add the sugar, vinegar, vanilla and hot water to the egg whites. Use light mixing strokes to mix in these ingredients, so as not to overbeat the mixture (this could make it chewy).
 * 7) Spoon the mixture onto the tray when soft white peaks form. Pavlovas should be round with a little hollow that takes the cream and topping, so it helps to imagine that you're making a nest shape. It should be approximately dinner plate roundness in size.
 * 8) Smooth out the circle and then create a small indented hollow in the centre, with slightly raised edges. If your shape is on the wonky side of circular, don't worry too much about how accurate the circular shape is - creative misshapes are permissible as long as the topping stays put.
 * 9) Pop into the centre of the oven. Cook for 60-70 minutes, or until crisp. Don't let it over-brown; it should be an off-white colour on the outside.
 * 10) Prepare the toppings while you wait; whip the cream so that it forms soft peaks; slice your strawberries and kiwis or other toppings. If there's time left, research the origins of the pavlova and make up your own mind about who invented it.
 * 11) Remove the pavlova from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool.
 * 12) Place the cooled pavlova on a serving dish and prepare to add the toppings.
 * 13) *There's a tradition to turn the pavlova over and decorate the base because it is said that this side is less crisp. Sometimes this reason is actually a nifty cover-up trick for little cooking mistakes like over-browning the top and the easy answer is - to turn it upside down... It's a personal choice. The pavlova centre will quickly lose its initial crispness anyway because of the whipped cream and topping.
 * 14) Add the whipped cream. If you're patient, spread it out to the edges evenly; if you're impatient, just dollop it on.
 * 15) Add the fruit toppings or other topping ideas (see Tips below). Another popular tradition is to drizzle freshly opened passionfruit over the top of the pavlova, just by itself on the cream or over both the cream and fruit topping.
 * 16) Serve. The beauty of a pavlova is in the eye of the creator; everyone else just wants to eat it. Don't be surprised at how quickly your creation disappears.

Tips

 * Pavlova is best eaten day it is made; it goes soggy and absorbs fridge odours quickly if left longer.
 * Other topping ideas include (usually on the whipped cream): Mixture of berries; cherries (pitted); apricot or peach halves; grated dark chocolate; raspberries& chocolate mix; mango slices etc.
 * You can also flavour the cream if you'd like - try vanilla essence, rosewater, orange water, lemon essence etc.
 * Use eggs that are room temperature for the best results.
 * Some pavlova recipes use cornflour as an ingredient. If you'd like to try this, delete the hot water and add 2 level teaspoons cornflour. It's really a personal choice as to what you prefer. It should be folded in lightly with the sugar, vinegar and vanilla.
 * Although whipped cream is traditional, you might like to vary the whipped cream with other soft creamy like substances such as custard. This would be frowned upon by traditionalists but experimental cooks have creative licence.
 * A dainty variation is to make this mixture as outlined but to create four "mini pavlovas". Just spoon out four evenly sized dollops on the tray and cook as instructed above, but only for 50 minutes. These will cook as little "puffs" and won't have the hollow; they are best served with a dob of cream on top and a berry coulis drizzled over the top (or serve the cream to the side of the plate). This is a lovely wedding, buffet or cocktail idea but you'll need to adjust the ingredient amounts depending on how many serves you need.
 * Aussies& Kiwis are fond of shortening their words. So, the pavlova is fondly known as a "pav".

Warnings

 * Disasters that may befall a pavlova include: Browned too much from overcooking; burning because you forgot to take it out on time; or sinking because you got impatient and opened the door too soon. If it is overbrowned, it'll probably be chewy - but there are people who like it chewy; just slather on lots of cream and topping. If it burns, cut off the burned bits and slather the remaining pavlova with cream and topping. If it sinks, slather it with cream and topping. While the ideal pavlova is symmetrical, balanced and clear of flaws, unless you're a chef, this is a very forgiving dessert and as long as it still tastes good, people won't really notice. If it is completely burned, crumbly or sunken, compost it and start again. If all else fails, run down to your local supermarket - most Australian and New Zealand supermarkets stock pre-made pavlova cases in their bakery section
 * Never bring up the question of who invented the pavlova at a dinner party containing both Australians and New Zealanders. Most likely it will result in a huge dispute.

Related Tips and Steps

 * How to Make a Banana Custard Dessert
 * How to Bake a Light Fruit Cake
 * How to Make Parfaits
 * How to Make Strawberry Shortcake

Sources and Citations

 * Who invented the Pavlova - Wikipedia outline