Anna Pavlova portrait photograph Nov. 8 1915. (Source Getty)
Pavlova named after the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova (1881-1931) who was famous when she toured in the 1920s. It is said her dance was so light that audiences said she did not dance, but flew high with her wings. Anna Pavlova was a superstar of the time. Various dishes were named after her. In France there were frog legs à la Pavlova and in America Pavlova ice cream.
Ingredients for Pavlova
Egg whites x 3
Sugar 175 g
Vinegar 1 tsp
Corn flour 1 tsp
Cream 300 ml
Fruit (soft fruit of your choice for a delicious topping)
How to make the Pavlova
Put the egg whites in the mixer bucket and start beating them on medium speed. Once they become foamy, slowly add half the sugar.
Mix the vinegar and the corn flour with the rest of the sugar and add them to the egg whites. Once the egg whites become a tight meringue, stop beating.
Spread the meringue in a tray forming a disk, making a nest in the centre. To make the disk shape you can draw a circle with a pencil on the parchment paper and place it upside down on your tray.
Bake in a preheated oven at 150°C for one hour. Turn off the oven and leave the meringue inside to cool.
Whip the cream. Prepare your fruit, slicing to decorate.
When the meringue has cooled, fill it with the whipped cream and fruit and it's ready for serving.