Are pavlovas on your Christmas menu?

Since my Mum died a few years ago Christmas has been very low-key for us as far as preparing festive food is concerned, but one tradition I do adhere to is 'making a pav' for Christmas lunch. The recipe I use has been tried and tested over many years and it is the 'Easy Two-Egg Pavlova' recipe from a very old Australian Women's Weekly Cookbook.

 

As the recipe suggests, this is very easy to make and here a few tips you need to be aware of to ensure your pavlova turns out the way you want it to.

Use eggs that are a few days old as very fresh eggs have an egg-white that is thin and therefore won't beat up to great volume. Your egg-white should be jelly-like in consistency and firm. Also make sure that your eggs are at room temperature. If you bring them back to room temperature you can even use frozen egg-whites.

Make sure that all the sugar is dissolved or else it will melt when the pav is cooking in the oven and will result in a sticky and 'weepy' pavlova. 

Adding cornflour to the recipe helps to dry out the pavlova. Vinegar whitens the pavlova and also helps to form the marshmallowy centre.

Use a bowl with deep, gently sloping sides and a small rounded base. All equipment should be very clean and dry as any moisture or fat (which includes egg-yolk) will prevent the egg-whites from whipping up to good volume. 

 

Source

 

 When spreading your pavlova on the baking tray you could make it in the shape of Australia for something different and a bit of fun. Just download the map from the Aldi website.

When the pavlova is cooked, allow it to cool completely on its tray. Once cool, loosen it with a spatula which is kept flat as, if you try to lever the pavlova up, it will break. After mine has finished cooking, I turn the oven off and roll up a tea towel and put that in the oven door to keep it ajar while the pavlova cools. This dries it out and makes it crisp. If it has dried correctly it will keep in an air-tight tin for two to three weeks. A pavlova made with this particular recipe can be wrapped and frozen and will keep for two months in the freezer.

 

Here is the recipe:

EASY TWO-EGG PAVLOVA 

                                                             2 egg-whites

                                                             1 1/2 cups castor sugar

                                                             1/2 teaspoon vanilla

                                                             1 teaspoon vinegar

                                                             1 teaspoon cornflour

                                                             4 tablespoons boiling water

Place all ingredients into the small bowl of an electric mixer and beat on high speed until the mixture is very stiff which usually takes around 15 minutes. Then spread onto prepared tray. I used to use foil but these days I use baking paper. This mixture will make 15 small shells or one 11 inch pavlova. 

If you are baking in an electric oven - bake a large pavlova in a moderate oven for ten minutes before reducing it to slow and bake a further 45 minutes and cool in the oven. For the small individual ones, just bake in a moderate oven for ten minutes, reduce the heat to slow and bake for a further 30 minutes before cooling in the oven.

When baking in a gas oven - bake the large pavlova in a moderate oven for ten minutes before reducing the heat to slow and then bake a further 1 to 1 1/2 hours before cooling in the oven. For the small individual pavlovas, bake in a moderate oven for ten minutes before reducing it to slow and bake for a further 40 to 50 minutes before cooling in the oven. 

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I have rarely had a problem with this pavlova during the many years that I have made it. It is crisp on the outside and has a marshmallow centre. I am sure your family will enjoy it if you give it a try. 

Is a pavlova usually on your Christmas menu like it is for us?