Is it too early for Pav? Never!
It was the favourite dessert of Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova. It is a meringue dessert with a crisp crust and soft, light inside, usually topped with fruit and whipped cream.
When you research Anna nothing comes up about her creation of this wonderful dessert, more about her tremendous determination to be the best ballerina. So much so it finally killed her.
While touring in The Hague, Pavlova was told that she had pneumonia and required an operation. She was also told that she would never be able to dance again if she went ahead with it. She refused to have the surgery, saying “If I can’t dance then I’d rather be dead.” She died of pleurisy, in the bedroom next to the Japanese Salon of the Hotel Des Indes in The Hague, three weeks short of her 50th birthday.
Enjoy the Pav!
- 2 large egg whites, at room temperature
- 1 ½ cups caster sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla essence
- 1 tsp white vinegar
- 1 tsp cornflour
- 4 Tbsp boiling water
- 250ml pouring cream
- 100ml pomegranate syrup
- 1 punnet fresh raspberries, hulled
Preheat the oven to 180*C with the rack in the centre of the oven. Draw a 23cm circle on a large piece of baking paper and put this on a baking tray. Clean and dry the beater and bowl of your mixer. Put the egg whites, sugar, vanilla, vinegar, cornflour and finally the water into the bowl. Beat the mixture on high speed for 10-12 minutes until shiny and stiff. Spoon this into your circle and spread it out evenly with a spatula.
Bake for 10 minutes, lower the heat to 150*C and then bake for a further 45 minutes. Turn the oven off and allow the pavlova to cool in the oven for at least 1 hour, preferably longer if you can.
Whip the cream to soft peaks and stir in the pomegranate syrup. Spoon the cream mix onto the top of the pavlova and decorate with the fresh raspberries.