Pavlova Recipe

› Pavlova Recipe

Light egg white meringue is the basis of pavlova cake. It seems to be easy to make, but can be a bit capricious: the egg whites should be cold when beaten, the oven temperature should be neither too hot nor too cold for the meringue to get dry. However if you learn how to deal with those whims your dessert will be guaranteed to be second to none!

By the way, do you know why this cake is called Pavlova? If you feel curious, discover a simple secret of gracefulness and a bit more on Russian ballerinas!

Or maybe it's better to start baking it right now?

Pavlova cake with dark grapes

Preparing the ingredients

Pavlova ingredients


Decorations

2 pints fresh berries or sliced fruits

1 1/4 cup heavy cream (can be replaced with custard, in this case you won't need sugar)

1/3 cup confectioner's sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Meringue

7 large egg whites

1 cup confectioner's sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract or vanillin powder

2 teaspoons white wine vinegar or lemon juice

1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)



Grapes for decorating Pavlova… and apple - no idea what it is doing there!

making it happen

Separating egg whites from yolks and whisking

Let's start with baking the meringue.



Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) and prepare baking paper to put the meringue on.

You may either put the paper into a pan or right on the baking tray, depending your oven. It is important not to get the bottom of the meringue burnt.



Separate egg whites from egg yolks.

Beat egg whites with a mixer until stiff and glossy and fold in sugar.




Continue beating till stiff peaks and gradually add lemon juice.

Finally fold in the cornstarch and mix gently.




Pile meringue into prepared pan. Place in preheated oven. Close the oven door, and immediately turn oven down to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). Sometimes it helps to leave the door slightly open for the meringues to remain white.

Beating egg whites with mixer - a white symphony of amusement for a true baker!
Pavlova cake before baking



Bake for 75 to 90 minutes.



Meanwhile you may prepare custard or whipped cream for the cover.

Making vanilla custard
Just baked base for Pavlova cake



And after such a long time in the oven... here it goes!


Carefully remove meringue from pan base, and place on serving platter.

Gently spread the whipped cream or custard over the meringue. Decorate with the fruit slices and chill before serving. If you are making the meringue in advance, it is better to prepare the cream and the fruits right before serving.

Pavlova covered with custard
Pavlova cake with grapes and physalis


In this recipe noble grapes are brightened up with physalis stars and shadowed with fresh mint leaves.

Discover your creativity and enjoy your masterpiece!



Bon Appetite!

Slice of Pavlova cake with grapes and physalis

Fruits or berries for Pavlova recipe are always at your choice. Here are several winning suggestions:

- kiwi and strawberries;

- blueberries, mango and peaches;

- sweet cherries;

- raspberries, blueberries and blackberries;

- passionfruit and plums or peaches.

Feel free to choose any other combination of those or create from your own ingredients and share!

When Is The Best Day For Pavlova Recipe? Check In The Cake Calendar!


pavlova recipe story
ballerina cake

Anna Pavlova was a famous Russian ballerina, performing for the Imperial Russian Ballet and the Ballets Russes of Sergei Diaghilev in the beginning of the 20th century. She probably could never imagine that her name would be memorized not only in ballet, but in cakes history as well! It seems contradictory!

When another famous Russian ballet dancer Maya Plisetskaya was asked for an advice how to stay slim and keep fit, her answer was very simple and straight forward: “Don’t gorge!” If you ever tried leaving the dinner table and staying hungry you must know how it feels! Can be tough, but everything has its price – you have to pay for being a ballerina. With your hunger. If you decide to stay and satisfy your appetite, you pay for your pleasure with not being a ballerina.

If you ever tried living hungry consciously, you probably know well how the quality of what you consume starts to matter! You will only want to consume something that really fits you, is good for your health and well being, concentrating on enjoying your feelings from tasting a small amount of what you have chosen.

Cake Addicted have to do their own grade of compromise here. Who said that ballerinas don’t happen to be cake addicted? We don’t know exactly now whether Anna Pavlova was, but based on historic facts she was very likely to have a sweet tooth. Anna had many talented admirers. One of them happened to be a hotel chef in Wellington, New Zealand, who invented this light low calorie cake specially for her.

Later on professor Helen Leach, a culinary anthropologist at the University of Otago in New Zealand, has compiled a library of cookbooks containing 667 (!) pavlova recipes from more than 300 sources.

The tastiest news about this cake is for those who follow a low fat diet. Classical version is made of egg whites and fruits. Of course, it still contains sugar, but this may sound like less evil. Generally it is a good choice for those who prefer very light and fresh dessert. Depending on the cook’s fantasy and feeling of beauty it can be decorated daintily with a variety of fruits to give not only gustable, but a visual pleasure as well.

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