Pavlova

I don't really know when did I have my first taste of pavlova Aussie style. Funny, even my husband could not really remember if I ever had one when I got here in Australia. What I am very sure about is their pavlova is quite similar to the white soft meringue in our pinoy brazo de mercedes which we buy from Goldilocks or Red Ribbon.

Anyway, I was making leche flans a few days ago and I hated to throw the egg whites so I asked my husband what should I do with them. That's when the pavlova idea came about. I tried to look for recipes and most of them used 4 egg whites. I did a little change to the recipe to use most of the egg whites I've had so instead of 4, I decided to use 8 egg whites and the result was better. The pavlova was not overly sweet and that's what what we liked. Then we suddenly remembered, we needed to add toppings and cream so off he went to IGA to buy the ingredients.

Ingredients:

8 egg whites
1 cup (220g) caster (superfine) sugar
2 tablespoons corn flour (corn starch), sifted
2 teaspoons white vinegar

toppings:
any fruit you like
heavy cream (add caster sugar while whipping with electric mixer)

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 150°C (300°F).

2. Place the eggwhite in the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk until stiff peaks form. Gradually add the sugar, whisking well, until the mixture is stiff and glossy. Add the cornflour and vinegar and whisk until just combined. Shape the mixture into an 18cm round on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper.

3. Reduce oven to 120°C (250°F) and bake for 1 hour 20 minutes. Turn the oven off and allow the pavlova to cool completely in the oven.

4. Decorate with your desired toppings

Note:  Do not overcook the pavlova or it will  become so dry and look more like a meringur candy.  That's what happened to the kiwis' mini - pavlova last night at My Kitchen Rules (Australian Cooking Show).