With a wedding in the family fast approaching, my daily routine has just being busy to say the least. Add to that my young son, who is growing up fast and constantly finding new way to surprise me. With preparations in full swing, I was unable to make anything special for husband, Ali.

The changing weather made me want to treat him to a special dessert. At first I thought of making a strawberry cake with fresh cream, although I didn’t want to make a simple sponge cake. I contemplated my options, and after some digging online, I found a beautiful picture of a white meringue delicately decorated with fresh cream and berries. I wanted to know more, and found that this tempting dessert is called a Pavlova, named after legendary Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova, who toured Australia and New Zealand, where the  dish originates from (though there is some debate on which country deserves the credit). 

Either way, it gave me the inspiration to make this beautiful romantic dessert to share with my spouse.

Despite its beautiful appearance, it is quite a simple dessert, and does not take long to make.

Pavlova is a classic – a light and airy meringue cake with a crisp and crunchy outside, and slightly chewy and soft inside. In fact I’m thinking of making it for one of the wedding get togethers.

The cake is topped with a thick dollop of cream and fresh fruits. The outlook of Pavlova is extraordinary and will always impress whoever is at your dining table. The best thing is you can create a Pavlova in a bunch of different ways, and top it with your favorite cream and fruits. You can make a big Pavlovas or individual ones as well. A treat for sure.

Ingredients:

For the meringue

  • Egg white – 6
  • Sugar – 1 ½ cups
  • Corn flour – 2 teaspoons
  • Lemon Juice – 1 teaspoon
  • Vanilla extract – 1 teaspoon
  • Salt – a pinch

For the topping

  • Whipped Cream - 1 packet + Sugar – 2 tablespoons
  • Fresh Strawberries – 1 cup, sliced
  • Banana – 2, sliced

    Instructions:

    • Preheat oven at 180 degrees Celsius and place parchment paper in baking tray
    • Briskly beat egg whites with sugar for 7-8 minutes. Add a pinch of salt in the egg whites and let stiff peaks form. The mixture will become smooth and glossy
    • Fold in lemon juice, vanilla essence and corn flour into the egg mixture with a spatula or wooden spoon
    • Place egg mixture onto parchment paper in small individual circles (I tried to keep them uniform but I guess the beauty of this dessert is in the imperfection)
    • Indent in the center of the egg whites with a spoon to make space for the cream topping
    • Place tray in oven and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the outside is a dry and pale cream color
    • Turn off oven and leave meringue inside for around another 30 minutes, so they become dry and do not change color
    • Transfer the Pavlova with the parchment paper onto the wire rack and let it cool to room temperature
    • Place a heaping spoonful of whipped cream onto the Pavlova and top with strawberries and bananas (Voila!)
    [Meringues can be stored in air tight containers for 3-5 days at room temperature]Preparation time: 20 minutesCooking time: 1 hour 30 minutesServes: 6-8

    Fatima Ali

    I am trained to be an IT professional. I served National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) for six years after graduating from the same university. As long as I can remember, cooking good food has been my passion and it makes me happy. My cooking lessons were a bit unusual though. Back in the day when digital did not mean much, my father would record cooking shows (knorr ka kitchen, kaukab khuwaja and Zee Khana Khazana – Chef Sanjeev Kapoor) for me to watch endless times later on, before trying the recipes out. I would make brownies and cold cake almost every day while my mother was asleep. This was my way of surprising her every evening. My mother cooks amazing food too and I have tried many of the recipes written in her recipe book. I draw inspiration from a number of chefs from televised cooking shows such as Late Chef Farah, Chef Rahat, Chef Mehboob, BBC Food, Masala TV, Chef Shai, Chef Sharmeen, Master Chef Australia and my ultimate favorite Chef Shireen Anwer. I would not be as good a cook I am now without passive guidance from each one of these.