The Pavlova, aka Pav, is a flour-less meringue cake and has a very soft airy texture baring a similar taste of marshmallow fluff. Some claim the Pav to be also one of the most difficult cakes to make with it's demanding texture requirements. You can find this dish commonly served on Christmas during their summer. It has a long running, almost comical, dispute between Aussies and Kiwis on who has the rights to the origin. In 1926, a Russian prima ballerina named Anna Pavlova visited Australia and New Zealand in one of her tours sparking the ongoing controversy. Anna Pavlova was a superstar of her day, adored and admired all over the world. As a result, a lot of chefs named their dishes after her.
On the New Zealand side, the argument goes that when Anna visited in her tour a chef of a Wellington hotel at the time created the airy dessert in her honor, claiming inspiration from her tutu. However, Australians argue that the Pav was invented at a hotel in Perth, labeling it to be "as light as Pavlova". The earliest footprints that can be found of the dish is in 1906, though they were simply called "cream cakes" not yet bearing their current name. A book by Emily Futter called Australian home cookery made in 1922 contained a recipe for "Meringue with Fruit Filling" being the first known recipe for what we consider to be the modern Pavlova. The dispute doesn't end there! Americans and Germans have put in their two cents with claims that it is theirs with evidence of recorded recipes dated before the 1920s.
Here are some fun tidbits!
In February of 1999, the National Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa, celebrated it's first birthday by creating the world's largest Pavlova "Pavzilla" that stretched to 45 meters, which had it's first cut by the then-Prime minister Jenny Shipley. Later, in March of 2005, students in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand broke this record with a 64 meter "Pavkong"!
That's enough with some history of the famous dish, let's get to baking it for ourselves. This is a popular Australian recipe and here is what you will be needing for it:
6 egg whites, room temperature
1 and 1/2 cups of granulated/castor sugar
A pinch of salt (1/8 teaspoon if you like to be precise)
3 teaspoons of cornflour/cornstarch
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup heavy cream, for whip cream
Strawberries or other fresh berries, for serving
Preheat your oven to 300f / 150c
Take a large bowl and whisk together your egg whites and salt until stiff peaks form. Having the stiff peaks is key so do not stop whisking/whipping until you get just the right peaks. Gradually add the sugar 1/4 of a cup at a time, whisking in between each addition. To test if it has properly dissolved, gently rub a little bit of the mixture between your fingers and if it feels too grainy then keep whisking, however if there is only a few grains being felt then that is okay.
After the last of the sugar has been added, whisk on high for 3 minutes until mixture is thick and glossy. Combine the cornflour/cornstarch and vanilla in a small bowl and add to the meringue mixture, whisking until just combined.
Grab yourself a large 12" inch pizza pan and line with parchment paper cut into a circle to fit the pan. Start scooping out the mixture, forming a circle roughly 8-9" inches in diameter. Using a spatula, shape your pavlova to be smoothed along the sides and up to the top, making it perfectly round. Once at the top, use the spatula to lightly pat along the top of the mixture to give it a peaked appearance, also giving it texture when cooked as seen below
Reduce the oven temperature to 250f / 120c and place the pavlova into the oven on the middle shelf. Cook for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Turn on the oven light if you would like to see it, never opening the oven door, the heat cannot escape and no cool air can enter or else the pavlova will deflate. It should look lightly browned.
Turn off the oven and leave the door closed for 3 hours until the pav has cooled down. To serve, whip the cream and gently spoon onto the centre and top with berries of your choice.
During my making of this dish, I infused my strawberries into the whip as well as topped it with them. Some use the mixture of strawberries and blueberries, it is all about personal preference here!
Lastly, enjoy! The pavlova can be eaten right away for best results and must be stored somewhere cold because of the cream but it will lose it's crunch texture after being refrigerated.