Australian Pavlova Recipe

-The origin of the Pavlova -

The Pavlova has many different stories surrounding its origin. One of these stories tells that in 1935 a Hotel chef in Perth created the Pavlova in honour of the Russian Prima Ballerina Anna Pavlova. It should resemble the dress that she woreduring her dances, pure white and light.

-Incredients-
For the Meringue: Six egg whites, A pinch of salt, 400g Sugar (3 and ⅛ cups), Lemon juice and Vanilla paste

For the Topping: 300ml Cream Double (10 fl oz), 250g Raspberries and 250g Blueberries( small packs)

For the Glass Bark: 100g Sugar ( a little less than one cup)

-Materials-

- Hand mixer, measuring cup, two spoons, spatula, lemon squeezer, baking parchment and a bowl

Separate all the egg whites from the yolks and pour them into a large bowl. Add a pinch of salt and start beating the egg whites with a hand mixer. After the egg white has stiffened slowly add three fourths of the sugar and keep mixing everything. After everything is well mixed add a couple of tablespoons of lemon juice, vanilla paste and the leftover sugar to the meringue and mix it again until everything is combined.

Preheat the oven for 80°C ( 176 °F )and leave the oven door a little bit open while it is heating up. This can be done by placing a wooden spoon in between the oven door.
In the meantime take out the baking parchment and cut out a big circle with a diameter of 25cm ( about 9.8 inches). After cutting the circle out apply water one side of the circle and place it on a baking tray. Now you can scoop on the meringue and spread it out. Keep in mind that you should leave 5cm ( about 2 inches) of space to the border.

By the time your oven has reached the right temperature let the meringue bake for 1 ¼ to 1 ½ hours.

Take your creme double and mix it in a bowl until it forms stiff peaks just like the egg whites for the meringue. After that is done evenly spread the creme double on the meringue base. Next up are the fruits to top the cake. Here you can decide what you want on your own Pavlova. However it is advised that you choose sour fruits like passionfruit, raspberries or physalis since they will help to balance out the sweetness of the meringue. Carefully wash the fruit of your choice and place them on the cake.

The last step of making the Pavlova is adding the glass bark. In order to make the sugar glass just sprinkle sugar over an oiled baking parchment on a baking tray ( use vegetable oil because it won't affect the flavour of the sugar). Then just put it in the oven to melt at around 100°C ( 210 °F). As soon as everything has melted take the tray out of the oven and let it cool. After about 5 minutes everything should have cooled down and you can remove the sugar from the baking parchment. Lastly break the glass bark into smaller pieces and place them on the Pavlova.