"Well . . . !" said Elizabeth Ann, very much surprised. "I didn't know it was so easy to cook!"
"Easiest thing in the world," said Aunt Abigail gravely, with the merry wrinkles around her merry old eyes all creased up with silent fun. (Understood Betsy, Dorothy Canfield)
I think anyone who cooks at all has something that they are terrified to make - for me, for ages, it was Anything With Yeast and Things Made Out of Meringue. I don't know why I was quite so terrified of beating egg whites, in retrospect (easy!), but I can remember with a grim delight my earliest experiments in yeast breadmaking, these heavy leaden loaves, the size and weight of hockey pucks. Yeast was obviously a mystical substance, requiring near-magical powers to use successfully and I sadly avoided it for the next decade.
Then one day, I was following the Toddler Girl around a children's library and on display was a breadmaking book for CHILDREN. I seized it and read it from cover to cover - and made my first successful loaf of bread that very night. You should knead your dough, the author wrote, until it feels like your earlobe, smooth and pliant, and with that sentence, breadmaking was solved for me. (Oh, and their cheerful description of how hot the water for yeast should be - not so hot that you can't hold your finger in it comfortably.) I don't remember anything else about the book - not the title, definitely not the author - but I owe the mystery author a debt of gratitude.
And meringue was just plain easy. I don't know what I was worried about with that. Separating eggs? Using a hand blender? Neither of those are very intimidating, but I'd look at a lemon meringue pie and feel overwhelmed. And slightly nauseated - I don't like meringue on top of pies. But as a Pavlova - oh, that is a DIFFERENT thing!
Pavlova is a delicious dessert that comes originally from Australia - a round meringue disc that gets filled with whipped cream or lemon curd and then topped with fruit.
I made it last night for our Epiphany dinner, it being suitably festive, and yet gluten-free and ALSO low in fat and calories enough not to make my heart feel like it was suddenly coming to a Christmas-glutted stop. (well, low in calories before I piled whipped cream on it. Still.) And it's easy. And it looks fancy. And it tastes like heaven, really.
Pavlova
4 egg whites
a tiny pinch of salt
1/2 cup of white sugar
1 teaspoon vinegar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Preheat your oven to 400F. Cut out a piece of parchment paper (you'll find this near the wax paper in your grocery store) as big as your cookie sheet, and with a pencil, trace a supper plate onto it. You'll want an 8 inch circle. Butter the paper - I used baking spray - and move on to making the meringue.
Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites and salt until they're fluffy. Add the sugar and beat for a few seconds and then ad the vinegar and vanilla. Now you're going to do some serious egg beating - mix the egg white mixture until it makes stiff peaks - the mixture will be resisting the beaters a bit and when you turn off your mixer and lift it up, little egg mountains should form. Sprinkle the cornstarch on top and lightly blend it in.
Now pile your meringue onto your greased parchment paper and gently spread it around inside the circle. You'll want to make high sides around the edges and a smooth center, like you're making a meringue bowl. Put the sheet into the oven and IMMEDIATELY lower the temperature to 250F.
Now leave it there for an hour and a half. When you take it out, it should feel set (and rather like a big piece of stryofoam), but still soft and squishy. If it's not done, give it another 15 minutes-half an hour. Now let it cool completely - you can make this much earlier in the day and then assemble it right before serving.
To serve, lightly whip some unsweetened cream, and pile that in the center of the Pavlova, leaving the rim untouched. As prettily as you can, arrange cut-up fresh fruit on top of THAT and serve to 6 VERY impressed guests.
Isn't that EASY? Thanks, in part, to our current gourmet food culture, many people think they can't cook ANYTHING - but really, anyone can cook. It is, as Aunt Abigail said up at the beginning, the easiest thing in the world and all you need to do is get started.
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one of my sister's favourite dishes when she was in australia was pavlova :) My SIL makes meringue dishes all the time (usually some kind of trifle). I'm not fond of meringue myself.. but it sure does look pretty!
There are so many things I am "afraid" to make in the sense that nothing will frustrate me more than pouring myself into a dish that will turn out awful. I like your attitude though and it is part of my resolutions to try more recipes so thanks for the boost!
You are indeed inspiring. This dish must look amazing but I don't think I'm athlete enough yet.
The Tasajara Bread Book. That's the one that gave me the joy of baking bread. I really must do it again sometime soon--now that the girl is older.
I've thought of maybe trying to cook lately, as long as it doesn't involve touching meat. I just can't do that.
My MIL has stories of her mother insisting that the meringue on a pie be made so that the tips of the meringue had that perfect drop of caramel colored liquid at the top.
Um, yeah. I don't do meringue pies either.
I made my first meringue (to top a pie) in November and was surprised at how simple it was so this intrigues me. I thought meringue was all kinds of intimidating because it is so pretty but this sounds simple enough so I may have to give it a try sometime.
Mine used to be pie crust/pizza dough/cut-out cookies - anything that required a rolling pin. I don't know what got me past my fear... probably hunger. :-)
That does sound impressive! Well done!
My secret fear is chicken. It isn't hard to do, but I am always paranoid that I will end up poisening my entire family. For that reason my chicken is always slightly over-cooked. Sigh.
wow - now, I am hurting...
My mom makes something similar at Valentines Day. She shapes it like a heart and then fills it with cherries (or cherry pie filling if you want it to be easy).
Yum Yum Yum!!!!
When a choir I was in toured Britain in 2001, we had pavlova nearly everywhere we went, and to this day, I cannot stand it. I can certainly appreciate the beauty of it though (with or without pictures), and I'm with you, meringue does NOT belong on lemon pie. Period. Luckily, I married a man who always volunteers to eat extra meringue. What a gem!
I cook some, but not adventurously, and truthfully not well. And I am terrified of all things pastry dough. I tried my own pie crust for the first time this Thanksgiving and for a recipe with so few ingredients it was a flop. And the second batch. A slightly better flop. Although, the fact that I worked up the nerve to try it at all means I have come a long way.
Hmmmm... sounds pretty and easy. What kind of fruit did you use? I imagine some sliced berries would be delish!
I'm drooling here, Beck!
Anything you have to roll out with a rolling pin definitely makes me sweat!
You always challenge me to want to cook outside my box ... so today I made Shepard's Pie! w00t!
That desert sounds mouth watering.
My husband always says, "If you can read, you can cook." You are a lovely case in point.
Your family is so lucky. I could just lick that screen.
My husband bought me a kitchenaid mixer and I discovered to my amazement that I could make bread.
baking I can do because it is like science with all the measuring and temperatures.
cooking I still cannot get a handle on.
Oh, yes, I LOVE LOVE LOVE Pavlovas!!!! Only my recipe was called "Meringue Clouds." (Why would they do that?)
This is one of the best recipes EVER. I wish I was there to eat yours. There is something about that light crunch of the meringue with the soft whip cream, and the tart berries that makes me want to eat until I'm SICK - and type with LOTS OF CAPITALS!!!
Have you ever tried individual sizes? It requires a bit less time and it's easier to serve...
and a bit of sour cream in the whipped cream makes for a lovely tang, too. MMmmmmmm....... delicious.
Did my comment just get erased somehow??? Try again... forgive me if I repeat.
I LOVE this dessert... and so do the kids. There is something about the texture that is so perfect, between the meringue,the whipped cream, and the berries. I could eat til I'm sick on it.
Have you ever tried individual sizes? They take a bit less time in the oven, and they are easy to serve. Also a bit of sour cream in the whipping cream makes for a little tang that suits perfectly. Mmmmmm....
Wish I was there to share. (licking lips)
I have never made Pavlova, although I am really quite fond of whipping egg whites. Not scared at all.
Bread is another story. I used to make lots and lots of bread dough...with my trusty Black and Decker bread maker. It did the kneading for me. Then all I had to do was shape it, let it rise and bake it. Yummy. The breadmaker eventually died and its replacement sucked egg whites. The end.
I like my pavlova soft, squishy and melt-in-the-mouth, and when I want it that bit less evil, use low-fat fruche instead of cream. The apricot variety tastes a treat. Your photo's a beauty -- just lovely.
I think I could actually make that! Although I prefer meringue cookies. Lile you, i hate meringue on top of pies - I always wish people would just make Lemon pie without the meringue.
In the play "The Man Who Came to Dinner," one of the characters always refers to another as "my pavlova." I never knew what that was till now!
Looks Yummy! I may have to give it a try!
We are addicted to chocolate pavlova via Nigella. It's not as light, weighted down by cocoa and chocolate bits but it is a sacrifice well worth making.
Ah! Anna Pavlova! That makes much more sense since it's a Russian character speaking about a ballet dancer. That's what I learned today. :)
That is one beautiful dessert! We had a ton of fun making meringue Santa hat cookies this year... loved how they sounded like styrofoam but tasted like heaven. I will have to try this pavlova... did you use frozen fruit or fresh?
Yum! That one is almost too pretty to eat!
I will definitely try that one out--it looks fabulous!
I am so excited to see you made this! I just made this for the first time before Christmas for a church function. It was a huge hit! Yours looks gorgeous!! Mine was super simple--whipped cream with kiwi on top. I'll be making it again for sure. YUM!
I am happy to see that such an awesome cook has also had a few phobias. I am pie phobic. I hate pastry...making it, eating it, rolling it, anything to do with it, but am a killer with a graham cracker crust!
Anything called "Pavlova" is bound to impress, regardless of how hard or easy it actually was to make!
I never had Pavlova until I went to New Zealand this past September. WOW! It quickly became my favorite thing. I have a meringue phobia too, but I guess I can be Very Brave like you and try it. It's so pretty!
Wow, Beck. I am completely impressed and not at all afraid to try this. I've made meringue for pies before, but nothing else, although I've seen meringue used in lots of other ways.
I'm all excited about trying this. I'm glad you stumbled across that little cookbook - you're an amazing cook!
I made a pavlova just a few weeks ago! mmmmm But, bread making, now THAT still scares me, although in my 20's I loved to make bread. I think the key was my nice old gas oven which was warm on the inside---my electric oven just isn't the same for bread rising.
And back to the meringues---this summer, I had one very failed attempt at raspberry meringues that never got hard b/c it was too humid out (something I had never considered)---they were delicious even sticky and wet, but I hope to make them again this February for Valentine's Day---wish me luck!
This will make you smile. I haven't tried this yet, but plan to. I was so impressed with this recipe, I put it in my sidebar under "Really Nice Places."
:-)
Great Recipe there for Pavlova!
Your instructions are so simple, straightforward and easy to follow, and those suggestions for using Fruche, and adding a little sourcream to the whipped cream are inspired.
Always wondered what to do with the egg yolks that are not used in the recipe. Then someone suggested making Lemon Curd/Butter and using it to fill the Pavlova.
Brilliant! You can put it together while the Pavlova is in the oven, and it is a good fresh tart filling in winter when the choice of fresh fruit is in short supply.
Will be making it "splashed" with Passionfruit for this Australia Day 2008 Celebrations!
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