PAVLOVA

Pavlova is a meringue dessert named after a Russian ballet dancer, Anna Pavlova. It is a cake of meringue with a crispy crust and soft, light inner. The photo above shows a chocolate pavlova with cream and strawberries that I have baked today. It is awfully simple to make yet delicious and of course... sinful like all desserts.

All you need are egg whites beaten to silky peaks, add in the sugar by spoonfuls and beaten till white soft peaks appear. This is followed by adding sifted cocoa powder to prevent lumps, a little vinegar and chocolate shaves. I use chocolate chips, saves me the trouble of chopping up the chocolate block. Bake the mixture, it is fine to see cracks, it is supposed to appear this way as the center of the mixture has sunken in. Removing it from the oven, you should be able to see the gooey mixture among the cracks. The crust is awfully crispy yet the inner is soft and chewy, the chocolate shaves melts in your mouth with every bite. Wait for the pavlova to cool before piling the cream on it, add any kind of fruits that you love.

Personally, I feel summer fruits goes the best with it especially strawberries or raspberries, the tinge of sourness with the cool cream match perfectly with the bittersweet pavlova.