If you've been following my posts from early on, you'll remember the evening we had dinner with a couple in Queenstown, New Zealand, and "Pavlova" was our dessert.Pavlova is the national dessert of both New Zealand and Australia, and each country claims hers is the better.
I liked every Pavlova I ate during the trip, and I've got the pounds to prove it.
Pavlova is named after a famous Russian dancer who, apparently, loved this dessert while Down Under.
It's actually not a cake, although it might look like one. It's beaten egg whites with sugar, vanilla, and vinegar thrown in, baked and cooled thoroughly in the oven, then topped with whipped cream. Sounds strange, doesn't it? But it's actually a delicious and very special treat, served in Kiwi and Aussie homes on birthdays, Christmas, etc. And the Kiwis and Aussies love to serve it to visitors.
Barbara, in Queenstown, was kind enough to share her recipe with me, so today I made my first Pavlova to serve as a birthday "cake" this evening. I had Ken pick up some kiwis at the supermarket this morning, but any fresh fruit would do as a topping. I felt kiwis were the most appropriate.
We'll see what our guests think of it.
Yummy!!!! But what are the rest of you having for dessert?
ReplyDeleteOh, we'll be happy just sitting and watching you eat.
ReplyDeleteNifty! It is funny that you posted about this because I have been wanting to try to make a pavlova for a while now. One of the two recipes that I've been eyeballing, has a bit of lemon curd spread under the whipped cream.
ReplyDeleteI think lemon curd, or even Marjorie Standish's great cream filling, would be good added under the whipped cream. If you plan to serve this in the evening, make it in the morning, because it takes several hours for the Pavlova to cool completely in the oven. Individual Pavlovas would be nifty, too, rather than one larger one.
ReplyDeleteI love that the Pavlova was named for the Russian ballerina because of its lightness. I'd love to have some again but I haven't seen it in any of the Midwest bakeries.
ReplyDeleteOh dear, I just read your post more carefully. It was named for Pavlova because she liked it? I guess I got a different story when we were in NZ. How wonderful that you were able to make it!
ReplyDelete