Dessert from Down Under

By Wanda A. Adams
Advertiser Food Editor

Two-year-old Anneka Driscoll of Wai'alae Iki peers over the counter to get a glimpse of her grandmother's pavlova. Bev Bawden, who is Australian and made the dessert, says it is a perennial favorite. It looks rich, but egg whites make it very light. Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser Australia Day Ball Feb. 2, Hawai'i Prince Hotel 6 p.m. wine and cheese; 8 p.m. dinner, followed by dancing Black tie optional Tickets: $85 Reservations: Australian American Chamber of Commerce, 526-2242; deadline Jan. 25

Like Aussies, who are famed for their "right, mate, no worries" attitude, she was independent and cared little what people thought of her. She declined, for example, to work in the shadow of an impresario, instead founding her own ballet company, which roamed the world, presenting classical ballet in places as diverse as India and Japan.

But again, like the part of Australia that's heavily influenced by the country's buttoned-up British underpinnings, she was a very conventional woman: happily married, fond of her London home, founder of a home for orphaned Russian children.

And she was, as earlier noted, the inspiration for a lovely, light, sweet dessert, created for her by a hotel chef during a 1925 tour of Australia. It's a sort of meringue cake — an airy confection of egg white and sugar topped with fresh fruit and whipped cream or a fruit sauce.

Pavlova, a favorite of Australians, is made both at home and in bakeries in that country. (New Zealanders, who like the pavlova too, have a whole different story about how the pavlova was invented, but this is an Australian story, so we'll give the Kiwi version a miss.)

Pavlova will form the dessert course on the menu Feb. 2 at Hawai'i's belated Australia Day Ball at the Hawai'i Prince Hotel. Australia Day, Jan. 26, is like our Fourth of July, and celebrates the founding of the country in 1788. On Australia Day, large civic celebrations are held in the major cities — a regatta, opera performances, parades and such in Sydney, for example — and families get together for barbecues or go to the beach. Whatever they do, pavlova might well be on the menu.

But like ballet, the making of a pavlova takes a little practice. Bev Bawden, a native of Australia who has lived in Hawai'i with her husband, Murray, for the last 15 years, recalls going through an entire dozen eggs in order to get the dish right the first time she tried it.

Years later, the Wai'alae Iki resident is full of practical advice for preparing this beautiful and traditional dish.

First, make sure the egg whites are at room temperature; this seems to make them gain volume more readily.

Second, do NOT rush the process of adding sugar to the whites as they're beaten. In Australia, recipes direct that you add the sugar a "dessert spoon" full at time; in America, a tablespoon is comparable.

She cautions that a pavlova is not a meringue: It shouldn't be baked until golden, but rather should be a stark white, eggshell off-white at the darkest. "A meringue is usually crispy. Pavlova has a different texture, it's crusty on the outside but very soft inside, and a good one will stand 1 1/2 inches high," said Bawden, who was baking a pavlova for the camera even as she spoke.

Also important is not to remove the pavlova directly from the oven; it will crack. Just turn off the heat and allow the pavlova to cool. But don't wait too long to remove the foil on which the pavlova is baked. The pavlova has to cool enough so that it won't readily pull apart or break, but not so long that the foil adheres permanently. (If you don't care to use foil, try baking parchment.)

If she were going to serve pavlova tomorrow night to guests, Bowden said, she would prepare it tonight, or tomorrow morning. The dish is best held in a cool, dry place; if your home is very warm, the refrigerator is best, but bring the dessert to room temperature before serving, to allow the flavors to reveal themselves. Held much longer than that, pavlova begins to weep, Bawden said, "and that's not very nice."

The fresh fruit you choose is up to you. Bawden said strawberries or peaches or a mixture of berries and grapes is traditional. But there are as many variations as there are cooks. The pavlova to be served at the Australia Day Ball will make use of the tart, assertive flavor of passionfruit, which also grows in Australia. There, fresh lilikoi is cut in half and squeezed over the fruit to add a tart, tangy flavor.

Bawden said experimental chefs have used alternative flavorings in the pavlova itself (in place of the vanilla, for example). And she's seen a spectacular presentation made by cutting the pavlova across horizontally; the bottom half is covered with fruit and whipped cream and the the other half is placed on top, so that it's more like a filled cake than a meringue with fruit topping.

For a pretty much fat-free dessert, make a lightly sweetened fruit puree. At the Hawai'i Prince, chef Goran Streng plans to use a sweet-tart lilikoi syrup to bind the fruits together in the pavlova he'll serve for the Australia Day Ball (but he's also going to cheat and put some ice cream in with the fruit, too).

Pavlova

• 5 egg whites at room temperature
• Pinch of salt
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar
• Fresh fruit
• 1 cup whipping cream

Preheat oven to 225 degrees. In an electric mixer on medium speed, beat egg whites and salt until frothy and increased in volume. With the mixer still running, add sugar, a teaspoon at a time; you can increase the mixer speed to high. The mixture will thicken and grow glossy. Continue mixing and add vanilla. Finally, add white vinegar, which will cause the whites to stiffen.

Turn the pavlova out onto a foil-lined cookie sheet, molding it into a circular shape about 9-10 inches across, flattening the top gently. (The pavlova is a solid circle, not a donut shape with a hollow center.) Bake pavlova for 1 1/2 hours. Turn off heat, crack oven door and let the pavlova cool in the oven for a short time — 15 or 20 minutes, until the cookie sheet can be handled.

Gently hold a plate over the top of the pavlova and then flip the meringue over. Carefully peel away the foil. (The bottom of the pavlova is now the top.)

Peel and slice fresh fruit as desired, and arrange it on top of the pavlova. Whip cream (you can sweeten it or add a little vanilla, as desired). Scoop or pipe whipped cream on top of the pavlova.