Pavlova
This meringue-based dessert is probably the most-loved and also most-argued dessert between Australia and New Zealand. Why? Because both countries laid claim to its invention! However the one thing that is certain is that it was named in honour of the great Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova (1881-1931), who toured both countries, first in 1926 and again in 1929, and thus provided the inspiration for the naming of this dessert. Pavlova, or as Australians like to call ‘pav’, is a soft-centred meringue filled with whipped cream and topped with fruits (traditionally either just passionfruit pulps, or strawberries and kiwis), and it is considered to be the national dessert for both countries.
There are a few different versions of its origin – I won’t go into that here as there are already tons of debates on this topic. However I will just attempt to list a chronological event of this dessert as it evolved. This is by no means a definite accurate list, they are only information I have managed to gather from different sources on the net – any additions or corrections to this information are, however, welcome. So here we go:
1926 – a recipe for a single meringue cut in half and filled like a sponge cake appeared in New Zealand.
1927 – in the second edition of ‘Terrace Tested Recipes’, recipes collected and published in Wellington, NZ by the ladies of Terrace Congregational Church, there was a recipe submitted by a Mrs McRae for a Meringue Cake. This was three whipped egg-whites, eight ounces of sugar and a dessertspoon of cornflour (the pavlova ingredients less vinegar), put into two well-greased sandwich tins ‘in a fairly hot oven on a low shelf and leave until the fire is almost out.’ The two halves were filled with whipped cream and cherries or strawberries, or served as two cakes.
1927 – the first appearance in print of the word ‘Pavlova’ (meaning the dessert) from New Zealand, in a 1927 booklet put out by Davis Gelatine NZ called ‘Davis Dainty Dishes (6th ed.)’. However, since the pavlova as we now cook it includes no gelatine, this gelatine sweet may referred to a totally different dessert.
1929 – a recipe from ‘Practical Home Cookery: Chats and Recipes’ by Mrs Katrine McKay for ‘Pavlova Cakes’ published in Christchurch, NZ. The recipe was contributed by Rose H. Rutherford of Dunedin and the cakes were cooked like meringues, with the addition of cornflour, coffee essence and chopped walnuts. Although the ingredients used were roughly those of a pavlova, it was not the pavlova as we know it today, because the mixture was then baked into three dozen little meringues.
1929 – a cookbook published by E. Futter titled ‘Home Cookery for New Zealand’ contained a recipe for ‘Meringue with Fruit Filling’ although the name Pavlova is not used.
early 1930s – a number of similar recipes for the Meringue Cake or Meringue Sponge Sandwich were published in New Zealand. Its form varied, but it was to all intents and purposes what we know as a ‘Pavlova’, sometimes even complete with passionfruit on top.
1934 – Mrs Elizabeth (Elsie) Paxton succeeded her husband as licensee of Hotel Esplanade in Perth, Western Australia, and under her invigorated guidance the afternoon teas became very desirable occasions.
1935 – there was a prize-winning recipe for a Meringue Cake in the Australian magazine, ‘Women's Mirror’ on April 2, 1935. It contained vinegar, but no cornflour and was of two parts filled with whipped cream. The recipe was contributed by ‘Rewa’ of Rongotai, NZ.
1935 – Mrs Paxton of Hotel Esplanade and her manager, Harry Nairn, approached their chef, Herbert (Bert) Sachse, to devise something different and unique for a sweet. Bert Sachse experimented on meringue cake recipes for a month and after many failures, finally lit upon one that survives as what we know it today. “I had always regretted that meringue cake (referring to the 1935 Women’s Mirror recipe?) was invariably too hard and crusty, so I set out to make something which would have a crunchy top and would cut like a marshmallow,” Sachse said in an interview with Woman’s Day magazine in 1973. According to Paxton family tradition, the pavlova was named at a meeting at which Sachse presented the now familiar cake (according to ABC Archives and Library Services, that day was December 31, 1935). The family say that either the licensee or the manager (as Sachse also recalled) remarked, “It is as light as Pavlova”. Thus the name ‘Pavlova’ was officially coined for this well-loved meringue cake!
And here is the original recipe from Sachse (extracted from ‘Woman’s Day Just Desserts’):
‘The whites of 6 eggs;
6 oz of sugar (a heaped cup);
1 oz of cornflour;
Just under a dessertspoonful of vinegar;
A few drops of vanilla essence;
1 good pinch of cream of tartar;
1/3 of a pint of cream;
3 or 4 passionfruit’
This Chef Sachse’s meringue was baked in a deep cake tin, cooled then turned out upside down and topped with whipped cream and fruit. Today however, you will find that it is more than likely to be baked in thousands of homes across the country as a free form meringue without using cake tin. The meringue base should be crisp on the outside but with a soft, marshmallowy centre. It is then usually just simply filled and topped with whipped cream and fresh fruits. There can be many variations to this simple dessert, it is really only limited by your imagination and creativity! For different presentations, try baking the meringue base in a large baking tray to serve as square Pavlova Slices, or making individual-sized meringue for Pavlova Nests. There are even recipes for making Pavlova Roll! Although pavlova is one of the most heavenly delicious desserts, it is however not the type of dessert that looks perfect. After the meringue base is baked and cooled, it is inevitable that the crust will crack and the marshmallow centre will sink back slightly creating a hollow space (from my own experience, the higher you pile the meringue, the bigger the hollow! – I still can’t figure out the reason for this, or maybe it is just I haven’t mastered the technique!?). But the good thing about the sunken centre is that it is just the perfect place to heap on the filling. So there you are, the ballerina angel of all the meringue-based desserts – Pavlova!
[Ingredients]
Meringue:
4 egg whites
1/8 teaspoon (pinch) salt
200g caster sugar
2 teaspoons cornflour
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
Filling and Topping:
300ml thickened cream
2-3 passionfruit, and/or 1 punnet strawberries and some kiwifruit
http://cafeoftheeast.blogspot.com/
[Preparation]
1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Take a large piece of greaseproof paper and trace a 20cm (can be up to 25cm) circle on the paper. Turn the paper so that the traced side is underneath and line on top of a large baking sheet (the meringue will expand during baking, so the baking sheet should be slightly larger than the traced circle to accommodate).
2. Put egg whites and salt in a large dry, clean mixing bowl and whisk until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar, spoonful by spoonful, beating continuously after each addition, until all sugar is dissolved and meringue mixture is glossy (about 5-10 minutes).
3. Mix cornflour with vinegar and gently fold into the mixture with the essence.
4. Stick the four corners of the lining paper to the baking sheet with a tiny dot of the meringue mixture.
5. Spread the meringue inside the circle. Shape evenly, running a flat-bladed knife or spatula around edge and over top of meringue. Run knife up edge of meringue mixture, all the way around, making furrows if desired. Alternatively, spread about 5mm layer of meringue over the circle, then pipe or spoon swirls of remaining mixture round edge to form shell.
6. Put the meringue in the middle of oven and immediately turn the oven temperature down to 120°C. Bake for about 1 1/4 hours or until meringue feels firm and dry to the touch. Turn off oven, open oven door and leave ajar to cool meringue slowly in the oven, at least 4 hours or overnight.
7. Once completely cool, turn meringue very carefully onto serving plate (some people like to turn it upside down so the flat base is on top). If desired, run the tip of a small knife around inside edge of the crust surface to allow centre to sink forming a nest for filling.
8. Whip thickened cream to soft peaks and pile on top of the meringue. Top simply with passionfruit pulp or arrange cut strawberries and kiwifruit on top of the whipped cream then drizzle on passionfruit pulp.
[Tips]
1. It is best to bake the meringue at night and leave to cool in the oven overnight.
2. Once baked and cooled, the meringue can be kept for a few days in an airtight container.
3. Only fill and top the meringue close to serving time.
[Note]
1. Please note this recipe uses 1 standard cup of 250ml, 1 tablespoon of 20ml and 1 teaspoon of 5ml.
2. The size of egg used is about 60g (includes shell) unless otherwise stated.
[Info]
Historical Information Sources:
1. Article by Glen Ralph of the Wilmar Library, South Australia
2. Information about New Zealand food
3. Saveur
4. Lacey, J. (ed.), 1983, ‘Woman’s Day Just Desserts’, Magazine Promotions, Sydney.
There are a few different versions of its origin – I won’t go into that here as there are already tons of debates on this topic. However I will just attempt to list a chronological event of this dessert as it evolved. This is by no means a definite accurate list, they are only information I have managed to gather from different sources on the net – any additions or corrections to this information are, however, welcome. So here we go:
1926 – a recipe for a single meringue cut in half and filled like a sponge cake appeared in New Zealand.
1927 – in the second edition of ‘Terrace Tested Recipes’, recipes collected and published in Wellington, NZ by the ladies of Terrace Congregational Church, there was a recipe submitted by a Mrs McRae for a Meringue Cake. This was three whipped egg-whites, eight ounces of sugar and a dessertspoon of cornflour (the pavlova ingredients less vinegar), put into two well-greased sandwich tins ‘in a fairly hot oven on a low shelf and leave until the fire is almost out.’ The two halves were filled with whipped cream and cherries or strawberries, or served as two cakes.
1927 – the first appearance in print of the word ‘Pavlova’ (meaning the dessert) from New Zealand, in a 1927 booklet put out by Davis Gelatine NZ called ‘Davis Dainty Dishes (6th ed.)’. However, since the pavlova as we now cook it includes no gelatine, this gelatine sweet may referred to a totally different dessert.
1929 – a recipe from ‘Practical Home Cookery: Chats and Recipes’ by Mrs Katrine McKay for ‘Pavlova Cakes’ published in Christchurch, NZ. The recipe was contributed by Rose H. Rutherford of Dunedin and the cakes were cooked like meringues, with the addition of cornflour, coffee essence and chopped walnuts. Although the ingredients used were roughly those of a pavlova, it was not the pavlova as we know it today, because the mixture was then baked into three dozen little meringues.
1929 – a cookbook published by E. Futter titled ‘Home Cookery for New Zealand’ contained a recipe for ‘Meringue with Fruit Filling’ although the name Pavlova is not used.
early 1930s – a number of similar recipes for the Meringue Cake or Meringue Sponge Sandwich were published in New Zealand. Its form varied, but it was to all intents and purposes what we know as a ‘Pavlova’, sometimes even complete with passionfruit on top.
1934 – Mrs Elizabeth (Elsie) Paxton succeeded her husband as licensee of Hotel Esplanade in Perth, Western Australia, and under her invigorated guidance the afternoon teas became very desirable occasions.
1935 – there was a prize-winning recipe for a Meringue Cake in the Australian magazine, ‘Women's Mirror’ on April 2, 1935. It contained vinegar, but no cornflour and was of two parts filled with whipped cream. The recipe was contributed by ‘Rewa’ of Rongotai, NZ.
1935 – Mrs Paxton of Hotel Esplanade and her manager, Harry Nairn, approached their chef, Herbert (Bert) Sachse, to devise something different and unique for a sweet. Bert Sachse experimented on meringue cake recipes for a month and after many failures, finally lit upon one that survives as what we know it today. “I had always regretted that meringue cake (referring to the 1935 Women’s Mirror recipe?) was invariably too hard and crusty, so I set out to make something which would have a crunchy top and would cut like a marshmallow,” Sachse said in an interview with Woman’s Day magazine in 1973. According to Paxton family tradition, the pavlova was named at a meeting at which Sachse presented the now familiar cake (according to ABC Archives and Library Services, that day was December 31, 1935). The family say that either the licensee or the manager (as Sachse also recalled) remarked, “It is as light as Pavlova”. Thus the name ‘Pavlova’ was officially coined for this well-loved meringue cake!
And here is the original recipe from Sachse (extracted from ‘Woman’s Day Just Desserts’):
‘The whites of 6 eggs;
6 oz of sugar (a heaped cup);
1 oz of cornflour;
Just under a dessertspoonful of vinegar;
A few drops of vanilla essence;
1 good pinch of cream of tartar;
1/3 of a pint of cream;
3 or 4 passionfruit’
This Chef Sachse’s meringue was baked in a deep cake tin, cooled then turned out upside down and topped with whipped cream and fruit. Today however, you will find that it is more than likely to be baked in thousands of homes across the country as a free form meringue without using cake tin. The meringue base should be crisp on the outside but with a soft, marshmallowy centre. It is then usually just simply filled and topped with whipped cream and fresh fruits. There can be many variations to this simple dessert, it is really only limited by your imagination and creativity! For different presentations, try baking the meringue base in a large baking tray to serve as square Pavlova Slices, or making individual-sized meringue for Pavlova Nests. There are even recipes for making Pavlova Roll! Although pavlova is one of the most heavenly delicious desserts, it is however not the type of dessert that looks perfect. After the meringue base is baked and cooled, it is inevitable that the crust will crack and the marshmallow centre will sink back slightly creating a hollow space (from my own experience, the higher you pile the meringue, the bigger the hollow! – I still can’t figure out the reason for this, or maybe it is just I haven’t mastered the technique!?). But the good thing about the sunken centre is that it is just the perfect place to heap on the filling. So there you are, the ballerina angel of all the meringue-based desserts – Pavlova!
[Ingredients]
Meringue:
4 egg whites
1/8 teaspoon (pinch) salt
200g caster sugar
2 teaspoons cornflour
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
Filling and Topping:
300ml thickened cream
2-3 passionfruit, and/or 1 punnet strawberries and some kiwifruit
http://cafeoftheeast.blogspot.com/
[Preparation]
1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Take a large piece of greaseproof paper and trace a 20cm (can be up to 25cm) circle on the paper. Turn the paper so that the traced side is underneath and line on top of a large baking sheet (the meringue will expand during baking, so the baking sheet should be slightly larger than the traced circle to accommodate).
2. Put egg whites and salt in a large dry, clean mixing bowl and whisk until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar, spoonful by spoonful, beating continuously after each addition, until all sugar is dissolved and meringue mixture is glossy (about 5-10 minutes).
3. Mix cornflour with vinegar and gently fold into the mixture with the essence.
4. Stick the four corners of the lining paper to the baking sheet with a tiny dot of the meringue mixture.
5. Spread the meringue inside the circle. Shape evenly, running a flat-bladed knife or spatula around edge and over top of meringue. Run knife up edge of meringue mixture, all the way around, making furrows if desired. Alternatively, spread about 5mm layer of meringue over the circle, then pipe or spoon swirls of remaining mixture round edge to form shell.
6. Put the meringue in the middle of oven and immediately turn the oven temperature down to 120°C. Bake for about 1 1/4 hours or until meringue feels firm and dry to the touch. Turn off oven, open oven door and leave ajar to cool meringue slowly in the oven, at least 4 hours or overnight.
7. Once completely cool, turn meringue very carefully onto serving plate (some people like to turn it upside down so the flat base is on top). If desired, run the tip of a small knife around inside edge of the crust surface to allow centre to sink forming a nest for filling.
8. Whip thickened cream to soft peaks and pile on top of the meringue. Top simply with passionfruit pulp or arrange cut strawberries and kiwifruit on top of the whipped cream then drizzle on passionfruit pulp.
[Tips]
1. It is best to bake the meringue at night and leave to cool in the oven overnight.
2. Once baked and cooled, the meringue can be kept for a few days in an airtight container.
3. Only fill and top the meringue close to serving time.
[Note]
1. Please note this recipe uses 1 standard cup of 250ml, 1 tablespoon of 20ml and 1 teaspoon of 5ml.
2. The size of egg used is about 60g (includes shell) unless otherwise stated.
[Info]
Historical Information Sources:
1. Article by Glen Ralph of the Wilmar Library, South Australia
2. Information about New Zealand food
3. Saveur
4. Lacey, J. (ed.), 1983, ‘Woman’s Day Just Desserts’, Magazine Promotions, Sydney.
Labels: Coffee Desserts, Meringues
posted by SeaDragon @ 9.3.05
3 Comments:
Hi SD, do you know why cornflour and vinegar is used? Just wanted to understand a little bit better. Tks, as always ^_k
SD, its ok. After I posted the question I found an explanation. tks_K
No worries :)
I'll answer anyway in case other people have the same question, they are to keep the centre of the meringue marshmallowy.
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