Pavlova

Since Joel and I first got together I had always heard a story about how Joel, being the uber-polite boy that he is, once ate Pavlova even though he thought it was awful. It's something about the texture that he doesn't like. Fair enough, there aren't many desserts the man likes. Anyway, the point actually is, I had never HAD Pavlova. I don't think I had even heard of it- every time I heard the name, it just reminded me of Pavlov and his dogs. :)

Well, while we were in Australia I finally got a chance to experience Pavlova. YUM! Sometimes you just know you're going to like something- and from everything I had heard about it, I was sure I would love it, and I was right! I loved it immediately.

Pavlova is really sweet (right up my alley!). It is made of a meringue base, topped with whipped cream, and fresh fruit. I actually had so much while I was in Australia, that I almost had *enough*. Joel's parents have a friend who makes, "the BEST Pav", and I had quite a few pieces of hers. It WAS good.

Of course, before I even left Oz, I had decided I was going to learn to make Pavlova. Which by the way, if you're American reading this and are surprised you've never heard of this dessert, that might be because it was created either in Australia or New Zealand (they're still fighting about the rights to that one)- I learned this from the same page where I got the recipe I used.

Now, this was my first attempt. And, I think I deserve extra props because, unlike what the recipe suggests (using a mixer), I did it ALL by hand- because I don't HAVE a mixer! So, I whisked egg whites until my arm was going to fall off, but finally they were making "stiff peaks". I followed the recipe EXACTLY (which I sometimes don't do), because I knew this was a tricky recipe. It "flops" easily.

Well, here's my meringue!

As you can see it cracked as it cooled. Actually, I almost lost the whole thing, because after baking for as long as the recipe said, I noticed that there was liquid oozing out of the bottom of the meringue- which according to the recipe website, is a sign of under-cooking. So I left it in for longer- quite possibly, almost twice as long as it was supposed to be in. In the end, it came out ok.

I did all that last night, but it took so freaking long, that I just left it to cool in the oven, and then shut the door before going to bed, and left it til today. Today, I whipped up the cream (yes, BY HAND!) and cut up mangoes and grapes to top the Pav. It would have been better with strawberries, blueberries, kiwi, raspberries- but, the three berries are not available in Angola, and the kiwis were SUPER expensive.

So, the finished product:

That mango was RIPE. Delicious. :)
My meringue didn't come out quite round, so the design is a little off center as well.

Of course, I had to cut a piece and try it, before I passed it around to my neighbors.

My slice:

It was delicious. The outside of the meringue was a little too hard and crispy, but the inside was marshmallowy and lovely like it was supposed to be.

People seem to either love or hate Pavlova, so as I went around passing it out, I asked two questions. First, "Do you like Pavlova?" and then, "Would you like some?" I kept one extra piece for myself, and the rest was gone before I even made a complete loop of campus. :) I hope everyone likes it!

Now, I just have to figure out how to adjust my oven and cooking time, to get a slightly softer meringue next time.

Next this afternoon, I am making Popovers with Goat Cheese and Chili from the cookbook J&J&L got me for Christmas. I bet they'll be good too! :)