There's Always A First Time.

My masterpiece.

So anyway, it's my hands shaking first time to make a... PAVLOVA. It's an all-time favorite Aussie dessert and yet in the many years that I've been there, on & off, I haven't been able to make one. As they say, there's always a first time for everything.


My mom claims she's a Pavlova genius cause she used to make them all the time. But when I asked her for the recipe, she couldn't remember her proportions, RIGHT MUM. Like any other person would do, I googled some recipes and compared them to one another to find the proportions, and so on.


Pavlova
adapted from all recipes

• 3 egg whites
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 
  
• 1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

1. Preheat your oven to 100C. Line your pan with wax paper.

2. Make sure your bowl is squeaky clean or else you'll have a problem with your egg whites to the consistency you intend it to be.

3. Whip your egg whites on high speed until they form soft peaks.

4. Gradually add your cup of white sugar to your egg whites while beating on lower speed. Your mixture should appear quite silky and shiny now. 

5. Mix your cornstarch, lemon juice, salt, and vanilla together in a small bowl then add it to your egg white mixture still beating on low speed.

6. The mixture should form slightly firm-ish peaks now. DO NOT TOUCH OR BEAT THEM ANY FURTHER.

7. Use a spatula to gently fold out the mixture to your lined pan. Carefully place it in the oven.

8. Set your timer to 1 hour, no more, no less. After 1 hour, just leave the pavlova in the oven. DO NOT BE TEMPTED TO BRING IT OUT. Leave it there until the oven COMPLETELY cools down.

9. Whip the cream along with the confectioner's sugar until soft peaks. Pour this over the cooled pavlova.

10. Slice some fresh fruits and place them on top. In my case, I sliced some bananas, caramelized some walnuts, and made a chocolate ganache to finish.

11. DEVOUR AND ENJOY!

Egg whites at soft peaks.

Firm-ish egg whites on my wax paper.
Slightly spread out.

Pavlova rising in the oven.

The making of caramelized walnuts.
SUGAR+DROPS OF WATER+CHOPPED WALNUTS.

Pav fresh out of the oven.

Chocolate Ganache.
CHOCOLATE+DRIBBLES OF CREAM.

Final Product!:)

Btw, my sister Shaye is the reason behind making this dessert. I swear she wouldn't stop bugging me until I made it! Props to her actually, she usually steers away from the kitchen, but she was glad to help with this lovely project!;)