I Love To Read, Not Read
The greatest invention in reading now, is the fact that you no longer actually have to read. I don’t know if I’m even able to read a book anymore. I listen to books. It’s the greatest. I no longer stress in traffic, (OK, that’s a lie, but the traffic is a little less bad) I listen to books. It took a little practice, but now I can listen to a book in my car while I am driving, as easily as I can listen to talk radio. If you’re a type A personality, like I am, it also helps you feel better about accomplishing two tasks at the same time. I urge you to give it a try. Sometimes, when the book is really great, I take the longer way home and actually stay behind a slow moving car on purpose. It’s very different from my past practice of waiving, shrieking and stewing! I must have a little bit of guilt associated with listening, rather than actually reading the book, because I always say “Oh, I just read this book….” It’s probably school/homework guilt related.
Our Hostess Is the Mostess
I love my book club! It’s a group of fun, funny, smart women with really interesting and diverse lives and interests. We do what you’d imagine people do at any book club, we discuss our book, think of a new book to read for the next meeting, we talk, we laugh and yes, we drink wine. But, we also eat amazing food. Bev, our hostess each month is an incredible cook. She gets her inspiration from the book we’ve just read and always does something delicious and reminiscent of our story. It’s fun to look forward to what she’s cooked up. We all fill in with other dishes inspired by the story and talk, drink wine and eat! Every so often a book will completely lack any discussion of food, but not very often, thankfully!
Our Last Book Was Delicious
The last book we read was The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty. Well, it was a good book with a very scandalous and interesting story and it had great dishes too, a jackpot! The author is Australian and that’s where the story takes place. If you get this book on Audible, https://www.audible.com the narrator is Australian, and she’s very entertaining too. I love listening to accents. Anyway, there was a lot of talk about Pavlova’s. You know when you keep hearing about a certain dish, over and over, well, you can’t help but want one. So, of course, Bev made a perfect, incredible, delicious Pavlova. None of us were sure of the origin of the Pavlova. After a bit of snooping around, apparently there is some controversy as to where it actually began. It is said to have been named for a Russian ballet dancer. Which, once you taste this, I think you’ll agree it’s fitting. Apparently the ballerina visited Australia and New Zealand and each take credit for the discovery. In the Husband’s Secret, it seems, Australians barely leave the house without one. Anyway, we all win! I hope you’ll try it too. Both the book and the Pavlova! The book also featured Hot Cross Buns, we’ll have to take that one on another time. Our next book is also by the same author, “What Alice Forgot”. Seriously, I I’m already loving it.
Light As Air
A Pavlova is basically a meringue filled with cream and fruit. I think I was a bit intimidated by making the meringue in the past, because if you’ve read various recipes, there is a bit of knowing how to handle it necessary. Mostly that’s about very humid weather. But, just go for it. I did and it worked out very well. Here’s how I did it. It’s springtime here (not in Australia) and I have more eggs than I could ever use, and I use a lot of eggs. This dessert is so light because the base is made of egg whites. It’s amazing how much meringue you can make from a few egg whites.
Separate 4 large eggs and let the whites come to room temperature. Don’t use the freshest eggs for this dish. If they come from the grocery store, they’re probably old enough, but don’t use freshly laid eggs from your backyard. I used some egg whites I already had in the freezer. Did you know you can freeze egg whites? I do it all the time. If I make ice cream or custards etc., I put the whites in a zip lock freezer bag. Mark the number of eggs used and then I have them anytime I need them. Save the yolks for any other cooking you may be doing within just a day or two at the most, otherwise, throw them away. Separated eggs don’t last too long in the fridge.
Whip ’em Good
In your mixer, add the egg whites and start them at slow for a minute. Add 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar. Slowly increase the speed to high. Once the eggs have turned white, very slowly add 2/3 cup granulated sugar, just a spoonful at a time. Keep beating until the whites are shiny and hold stiff peeks. (You know the test, hold them over your head, and if they don’t fall, they are done. If they are not done, repeat steps above!) When ready, add one teaspoon white vinegar, 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract and 1 tablespoon cornstarch. Beat another two minutes.
Some Assembly Required
Preheat your over to 300 degrees. Roll out a piece of parchment paper (not wax paper or foil). Using a 9 inch cake pan as your guide, draw the circle onto the parchment paper. Turn the paper over, then put it on top of a baking sheet.
Put a couple of small dots of the meringue on each of the corners of the paper, securing it to the baking sheet. Fill the center of the circle with the meringue. carefully, fill in the circle, keeping the sides up a bit higher, then tapering down to the center, you want room to fill with cream and berries. Bake 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 250 degrees and set your time for 90 minutes. After 90 minutes, turn off the oven and keep the door shut. Leave the Pavlova to dry for at least 6 hours or overnight. The Pavlova will be crispy on the outside and soft, like a marshmallow on the inside.
When you’re ready to serve, put your Pavlova onto a serving plate. Whip 1 1/2 cups heavy cream with 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla and one tablespoon confectioners sugar. Fill center with the cream, top with 4 cups berries, drizzle with syrup and serve. Enjoy!
Ingredients
For the Meringue
- 4 egg whites, room temperature
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
For the syrup
- 3/4 cup fresh berries
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
For the Topping
- 4 cups fresh mixed berries (Kiwi is traditional too)
- 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon confectioners sugar
Instructions
For the Meringue
- Separate 4 large eggs and let the whites come to room temperature.
- In your mixer, add the egg whites and start them at slow for a minute. Add 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar. Slowly increase the speed to high. Once the eggs have turned white, slowly add 2/3 cup granulated sugar, just a spoonful at a time. Keep beating until the whites are shiny and hold stiff peeks. When ready, add one teaspoon white vinegar, 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract and one tablespoon cornstarch, beat another two minutes.
- Preheat your over to 300 degrees.
- Roll out a piece of parchment paper (not wax paper or foil). Using a 9 inch cake pan as your guide, draw the circle onto the parchment paper. Turn the paper over, then put it on top of a baking sheet.
- Put a couple of small dots of the meringue on each of the corners of the paper, securing it to the baking sheet. Fill the center of the circle with the meringue. carefully, fill in the circle, keeping the sides up a bit higher, then tapering down to the center, you want room to fill with cream and berries. Bake 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 250 degrees and set your time for 90 minutes. After 90 minutes, turn off the oven and keep the door shut. Leave the Pavlova to dry for at least 6 hours or overnight. The Pavlova will be crispy on the outside and soft, like a marshmallow on the inside.
For the Syrup
- In a small saucepan, add 3/4 cup berries and 1/4 cup sugar. Heat on medium, breaking berries down with fork as they cook. Continue to cook until syrup is bubbly and the berries are all broken down, about 5 minutes.
- Carefully strain syrup from the seeds, discard the seeds (or save it and put it on toast!)
- Chill syrup in refrigerator until ready to serve.
For Assembly
- Place the meringue on a serving dish. Fill center with whipped cream and fresh berries. Drizzle with berry syrup.
- Serve immediately.
