Pavlova -- a sure-fire recipe

[Maxmillion]

I filed a nice story, including some background on this legendary dessert and some pictures, on how to cook a Pavlova.

Happy reading and cooking!

http://la.foodblogging.com/2006/07/20...

[jenjunum]

I made individual pavlovas (that turned out to be more like merenges) for passover this year and I was able to bake them on a Silpat without buttering it. They sort of peeled off but definitely didn't stick. I served them with strawberry sauce and whipped cream with great success.

[Maxmillion]

That sounds great, but the special appeal of Pavlova is their soft, foamy centre within a crisp meringue shell. Meringues are hard all the way through.

I guess what I am trying to say is that the first time I tried to make a mini pav, all I got was a standard meringue result.

My suggestion above will help cooks achieve a pavlova on a smaller scale, i.e. for two persons to share.

[Maxmillion]

p.s. Smaller pavlovas do work!!

If you have two egg whites kicking around, halve the remaining ingredients and cook for ONE hour, plus requisite cooling period. I recently had a great success with a smaller pavlova.

http://la.foodblogging.com/2006/07/20...

[ballulah]

Just the word "Pavlova" reminded me of my favorite thing in the world when I was about 13. My mom and I would get a frozen raspberry pavlova from Marks and Spencer, come right home, cut it in half and dig in to our respective halves. Totally decadent. (I know I know, frozen pavlova? But all the prepared food from Marks and Sparks were and are amazingly delicious.) I'm going to have to try your recipe and report back!

[Maxmillion]

Yes! Please do!! (report back) Yeah, marks n sparks do good work. I am not surprised they could actually pull off frozen meringue.

[pilinut]

I, too, love pavlovas! I can't imagine why they aren't much more popular outside of Australia and NZ, as they are an ideal dessert.

My sister made one some months back, but I don't remember whether she used parchment to line the cookie sheet, and whether or not she greased it. Can I use a Silpat mat instead?

[Maxmillion]

Hey -- that's an excellent question. Silpat does NOT work (unless you grease it, and who does that?)

I had mcuh better results with a greased piece of parchment paper (I used butter) that is bigger than your pav. I think a little of the butter seeped into the meringue, but it was negligible.

The pav is such a fragile dessert, you really don't wanna have to wrestle it off the cooking sheet.

[pilinut]

Thank you! Lazy me--I was going to try it on an ungreased Silpat. Now that you mention it, parchment sounds like the way to go. My cookies are slightly better on parchment than on the silpat, too.

[Maxmillion]

^ are they? that's interesting. (I never bake cookies.)

I thought about your comment, and there's no reason you can't grease a silpat, it's just that you sort of don't think to do that.

I think the reason people use parchment for Pavlovas is that you can draw a circle on it and try to pile your meringue (as high as possible/feasible) within that circle. My Mum used to have this cool ceramic plate with the Pavlova recipe written on it and a circle to guide how big to make it, that she then put in the oven.

I think I mentioned in my posted recipe that pavlovas spread a bit as they cook. But the higher or more compact the "dome" of meringue is, the more foam you get inside. If you do a shallower pile of meringue, you will probably get a crispier result.

Best of luck with it! It certainly is a sensational dessert that people adore.

[hcethatsme]

Just made my first Pavlova on a regular slipat (not greased)--no problem at all! Wow, it was yummy with raspberries as the fruit. I'll definitely make this again. I wonder why you had trouble with yours? I haven't found anything that will stil to a slipat, so I risked not greasing it despite this post...

[muzzargh]

Just cook it on the serving plate, then when it has cooled it is all ready to go :-)

[Maxmillion]

oh, I wonder why? thanks for trying!! As you will have worked out, Pavlova is a unique form of meringue -- crispy *and* foamy at the same time.

[Chocolatechipkt]

I tried to comment on your blog but kept getting an error message.

In any case, that looks great! I love meringue!

[Jonah]

Comments should be fixed now (sorry 'bout that)

[Chocolatechipkt]

I made my first pavlova for Mother's Day this year, and it was a huge (and tasty) success!

http://areyouhungryyet.blogspot.com/2...