Pavlova is a meringue based dessert that was named for the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova who was considered the greatest ballerina of her time. The dessert is reminiscent of a ballerina is that it is very light and airy. Traditionally the dessert consists of a meringue base, then whip cream, and then fruit on top. I have modified how I make it however in that I fold whip cream in with vanilla pudding and use that as a second layer. This gives the dessert a bit more depth than just whipped cream. Any fresh fruit can be used, let your imagination guide what you think would work.
Meringue Base
4 large egg whites
1 cup supferfine (castor) sugar
1 tsp white vinegar
1/2 tablespoon cornstarch
Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
Beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Slowly add the sugar a tablespoon at a time. Continue beating until stiff peaks are formed. Also you should be able to rub the meringue between your fingers and not feel any grainy sugar. If you are still feeling grit, continue beating until the sugar dissolves into the egg whites. Sprinkle the merinuge with the vinegar and corstarch and fold in.
The merinuge must be then transferred to a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet and shaped into your base making sure to keep the side higher to hold in the "filling." If you want more of a marshmallowy textutre in your meringue you will want to work more to create height to your meringue. If you want more of a crispy texture you will want more width. Generally the typical area you will want is about a seven inch circle.
Transfer the cookie sheet to the pre-heated oven and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes. The outside should be dry and the meringue should have a pale color. Turn the oven off and let the meringue cool in the oven with the door slightly open. The meringue can then be removed and stored for a few days if needs be. Remember that it must be stored in a cool and DRY place. Meringue exposed to moisture will quickly fall apart.
Vanilla Pudding
1/2 Cup Sugar
2 Tbs cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
2 C milk
2 Tbs butter
2 tsp vanilla
1 Cup cream
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 Tablespoons sugar
Combine sugar cornstarch and salt in a medium saucepan. Add milk and cook on medium high heat. Cook the pudding stirring constantly until the mixture starts to thicken up and starts to boil. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter and the vanilla. Let the pan cool for 5 minutes and then apply plastic wrap to the top of the pudding (so that it doesn't develop a skin) and transfer the pan to the refridgerator and let it chill completely.
Beat the cream vanilla and sugar together until soft peaks form.
Remove the chilled pudding from the refridgerator and whisk a bit to make it smooth. Then fold in the whipped cream. This will create enough for approximately two pavlovas, so the recipe can be halved, or you can use the pudding and/or pudding whip cream mixture for other items.
Assembling the Pavlova
Fill your meringue base with half of the pudding/whip cream mixture. Top with fresh fruit such as: strawberries, peaches, blackberries, kiwi, passionfruit, etc.
Enjoy!
NOTE!! Pavlova will quickly disintegrated as the moisture from the pudding will dissolve the meringue base. This is a dessert that once it has been assembled it must be eaten within a few hours before it is just a mushy mess.
