Strawberry and Passionfruit Pavlova

Strawberry and Passionfruit Pavlova

• 4 Jan 2010

I've worked a full day, gone to a cycle class, made lunch for tomorrow and eaten my dinner so now it's time to resume blogging for 2010. I had a very busy festive season, which as always revolved around the consumption of food.

For our work Christmas lunch we all 'bring a plate', an Australian tradition where every-one brings along food (in addition to the plate). My contribution was a pavlova topped with strawberry and passionfruit. Not only did I make one for work but I made another one to take with me to a bbq and a third one to replace the first pavlova I made, which was consumed by ants. It was a shame having to toss the pavlova into the bin but unfortunately it wasn't fit for human consumption. I hope the ants enjoyed it though.

I come from a family of pavlova makers and when it comes to pavlova, I'm a traditionalist. A pavlova should be high with a thin crust of cooked shell around a light fluffy marshmallow like filling. It should not be cooked through - that's a meringue, not a pavlova. I used a recipe from the Australian Women's Weekly magazine but used 5 eggs rather than 4 eggs. You just adjust all the ingredients accordingly.

The shell will crack but that's all part of the charm. Pavlova can be topped with anything but the most popular topping is whipped cream with fruit, usually strawberries and passionfruit. Farmer Andrew is a dab hand at pavlova and he tops his pavlova with passionfruit alone.

The pavlova was a very popular choice at the Christmas lunch, in fact there was nothing left on the plate. It's a year since I last had pavlova and once I'd taken the first mouthful I realised I'd forgotten just what a simple but delicious dessert it can be.

I hope you enjoy the pictures,

Jillian