Pavlova

By Cynthia

Pavlova is New Zealand's best dessert. The Pavlova consists a base made of meringue crust topped with whipped cream and fresh fruits such as "strawberries, kiwifruit ect.

1962 - Keith Money, a pavlova biographer, wrote in his 1982 book "Anna Pavlova: Her life and art" that a chef in the hotel in Wellington, N.Z created the dish when Pavlova visited there in 1926 on her world tour. The hotel chef that invented the pavlova was inspired by Ann Pavlova's tutu, draped in green silk cabbage roses. The basic shape of the tutu was provided by the meringue case, while the froth of the skirt's net was suggested by whipped cream. To achieve the effect of the green roses the enterprising chef used sliced kiwifruits.

The Recipe For Pavlova's

Method:
set your oven to 250^oF

Put eggs whites in bowl, add vinegar, and mix egg whites until fluffy

Once egg whites are fluffy slowly add the sugar

when egg whites are a bit stiff add cornstarch and vanilla extract then whisk a few times (DO NOT OVER MIX!)

Wet the parchment paper, crinkle it, then line the baking sheet with it. Draw a circle on the parchment paper as a guide for the meringue then turn it over
Add a tip to your pastry bag. (Star tips, open or closed, work well). Fill your pastry bag about half full with the egg foam and twist it closed. Squeeze the pastry bag and make a meringue circle about 10 inches in diameter on the wax paper. If you don’t have a pastry bag, use a spoon to mound the meringue on the wax paper and make a well in the middle, creating a bowl-shaped shell
When your circle is done, pipe a bunch of stars along the edge. Keep piping higher and higher until you have a nice deep bowl.
Put the meringue in the oven. After 45 minutes, turn the heat off. Leave the meringue in for another hour, or until it is completely cool. You can even leave it overnight

While the meringue is in the oven, cut up your fruit

Remove the meringue bowl from the oven. Make sure it’s nice and cool—if it’s still warm, wait and try again in a little while.

Wisk cream until it's stiff

Fill the meringue bowl with whipped cream and put the fruit on top for a delicate, airy treat

Serve promptly, so the meringue doesn’t get soggy from the cream

Ingredients:
4 egg whites at room temperature
2/3 cup of  finely granulated white sugar 
1/2 teaspoons of white vinegar
4 teaspoons of cornstarch
4 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1 cup of heavy whipped cream
approximately 1 cup of fresh fruits  ( Kiwifruit and strawberries are traditional)

Equipment:
pastry bag with star tips (pastry bags are not essential but it just makes your meringue shell prettier)
backing parchment paper
a bowl (glass or stainless steel or copper is best.)
a baking sheet
a mixer or eggbeater or wire whisk