But despite your
foodie preference over the season, one thing most Kiwis (and Aussies) love is Pavlova.
I mentioned the good old Pav on SRR a while back and have been salivating over
the opportunity to speak to this most wonderful downunder dessert ever since.
Pavlova is like a giant
meringue. You can make mini-pavs (I bought the ones in the pic below and decorated them for a pre
Christmas splurge with my boys) or you can get a cake-sized one. The perfect pav
for me is crispy on the outside and soft and almost
marshmallow-like in the middle. You smother it
with cream, and on the top decorate it with fruit such as strawberries.
Or even kiwifruit - what North Americans
call just Kiwi - which I still find odd
since for us, the Kiwi is our native bird....Or it's us, the people!
Pavlovas are dead
cheap to make as they're basically sugar and egg whites mixed up and baked at
a low temperature. They can, however, fail to rise but all is not lost if it's
just a flat crispy meringue you end up with (which is usually what my pavlovas
end up like, to be honest). Just break it up and layer it in a glass with
whipped cream, fruit, maybe some grated chocolate on the top and dig in. Below are the mini pavs with kiwifruit!
Just like the turkey
in North America, Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without a Pav, so maybe over
the New Year, our readers across the world can share some of the Kiwi love and
give it a go. Here's a link to a recipe
from a well known Kiwi sugar website that is appropriate given most of the
ingredients in a pavlova is sugar.
Enjoy!
Joanne's latest book Dating Daisy is a romantic comedy set in
Auckland, New Zealand. You can follow Jo on Twitter @Joanneauthor where she tweets about pretty much anything and Like on Facebook.
www.joannehill.com
Sounds delightful, Joanne. I used to go to a restaurant where they did schaum tortes which are strawberry meringues. YUM!
ReplyDeleteThey look delicious, but I'm not sure I'll try to make them. For me, the simplest things, like meringue and pie crust, are the hardest to make.
ReplyDeleteThey remind me of divinity (little pillows of flavored meringue). Yum!
ReplyDeleteI love Pavlova! So yummy. I've made a chocolate one for my gluten-free friends - and they loved it. Thanks for sharing this!
ReplyDeleteI like the failed pavs sometimes as much as the marshmellowy ones. I was thinking of buying the mini ones for Christmas this year (although having a stomach bug I wonder if I will want to eat it).
ReplyDeleteI do love it for Christmas (from a Aussie)
Sounds interesting. Will have to try some day.
ReplyDeleteWe have pavlova at Christmas as well, in the UK. My sister is the pavlova queen and always brings one. She normally decorates it with whipped cream and strawberries. I can't wait!
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