Tight Wad in Utah: Pavlova - perfect summer dessert!

A few weeks ago, an amazing and dear friend turned 37 years young. She is working hard at maintaining a healthy lifestyle. So instead of baking her a cake, I decided we should give Pavlova a try. I had made it once before, and I really don't know why I don't make it more often!

I used a recipe from the Joy Of Baking site.

Pavlova Recipe:

4 large (120 grams) egg whites

1 cup (200 grams) superfine (castor) sugar

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon white vinegar

1/2 tablespoon cornstarch (corn flour)

For the entire recipe and instructions, please click here: Joy of Baking Pavlova.

Meringue is ready to bake!

From the webisite:"Pavlova (Pav) is a meringue cake that has a light and delicate crisp crust and a soft sweet marshmallow center. This lovely dessert is typically served with softly whipped cream and fresh fruit. There is a long standing debate about whether New Zealand or Australia invented this dessert, which has yet to be resolved. What we do know is that the name, Pavlova, was chosen in honor of the Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova, who toured both New Zealand and Australia in 1926."

It does take longer to bake than a regular cake, but the payoff is sublime. That's a good word for it. Instead of forming the pavlola into one big round, I made 3 mini pavlovas.

We topped ours off with strawberries, raspberries and blackberries - and real whipped cream. YUM.