“I hope you never lose your sense of wonder,
You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger,
May you never take one single breath for granted,
God forbid love ever leave you empty handed,
I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean,
Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens,
Promise me that you’ll give faith a fighting chance,
And when you get the chance to sit it out or dance,
I hope you dance….I hope you dance.”**
A Russian ballerina named Anna Pavlova (b. 1881 – d. 1931) inspired this lighter than air meringue based dessert. It was created in New Zealand and called ‘pavlova cake’ in 1929. At least….that’s what we think.
Apparently there is a little dispute about the actual creator of this dessert. Turns out we have such things as culinary anthropologists.
Who knew?!?
Helen Leach, the aforementioned culinary anthropologist at the University of Otago states that the first recipe from New Zealand was a recipe for ‘pavlova cake’ in 1929.
However, a gentlemen by the name of Bert Sachse claims to have created the dish at the Esplanade Hotel in Perth, Western Australia in 1935. In defense of his having created the recipe, one of his relatives wrote to Ms. Leach that Sachse perhaps simply dated the recipe incorrectly.
Leach says “Nuh, uh” because that recipe doesn’t show up in any cookbooks until the 1940s in Australia.
Other opinions are that this dessert has no singular birthplace, but rather can be explained by distinguishing a second, associated level of “social construction’ in which cooks, eaters and writers attach a name and myths to produce a widely-held concept that appears so deceptively distinct that it must have had a definite moment of creation.
Every year for Christmas my Mom made a delicious and sugary concoction we called “Million Dollar Fudge”. It is melt in your mouth chocolatey goodness with three kinds of chocolate, and so much sugar a diabetic coma is only minutes away. Yum!
Many years later I was making this same yumminess for my stepkids and telling the story of the family tradition. I elaborated the story with speculation about the origin of the recipe. Handed down from my Belgian ancestry? They like chocolate. Could it be that my Belgian great-grandmother brought it with her as a treasured possession when she emigrated?
Finally during a phone call I remembered to ask my Mom, “Hey, where did that recipe come from?”
“Oh, your Dad and I bought a deep freezer before you were born and it was one of the recipes in the instruction booklet!”
So, maybe culinary anthropologists should investigate what model of appliance was coming out in 1929.
What we DO know is that Anna Pavlova was a principal artist of the Imperial Russian Ballet, created the role of The Dying Swan, and, with her own company, she became the first ballerina to tour around the world including South America, India and Australia.
Travelling to The Hague she became ill with pneumonia and required an operation. The doctors told her she would never be able to dance again if she went ahead with the operation.
Anna responded, “If I can’t dance, then I’d rather be dead.”
She died of pleurisy shortly after. She was 20 days shy of her 50th birthday.
It really doesn’t matter where this luscious and light desert came from. Make it. Enjoy it. Share it with friends and family. Life is short…eat dessert first.
Do the extra situps tomorrow.
“I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance,
Never settle for the path of least resistance,
Livin’ might mean takin’ chances, but they’re worth takin’,
Lovin’ might be a mistake, but it’s worth makin’,
When you come close to sellin’ out reconsider,
Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance,
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance,
I hope you dance….I hope you dance.”**
** Words and music to “I hope you dance” written by Mark Sanders and Tia Sillers.
Performed by Lee Ann Womack.
Mixed Berry Pavlova
Equipment
- Stand mixer
- Parchment paper
- Food processor
Ingredients
Meringue
- 4 Extra large Egg whites, at room temperature
- Pinch Kosher salt
- 1 Cup Sugar
- 2 Tsps Cornstarch
- 1 Tsp White wine vinegar
- ½ Tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
Berries
- ½ pint Fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
- ½ pint Fresh blueberries
- ½ pint Fresh raspberries
Triple Berry Sauce
- ½ pint Fresh raspberries
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 cup Seedless raspberry jam (12 oz jar)
- 1 Tbsp Framboise liqueur Framboise is French for “raspberry” so any raspberry or berry flavored liqueur will do. I chose Chambord.
Sweetened Cream
- 1 Cup Cold heavy cream
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1 Tsp Pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Triple Raspberry Sauce
- Place the raspberries, sugar and ¼ cup water in a smal saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-medium high heat. Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer for 4 minutes.
- Pour the cooked raspberries, the jam, and framboise into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and process until smooth. Chill.
Meringue
- Preheat the oven to 180°F.
- Place a sheet of parchment paper on a sheet pan. Draw a 9-inch circle on the paper using a 9-inch plate as a guide, hen turn the paper over so the circle is on the reverse side. (This way you won’t get a pencil mark on the meringue.)
- Place the egg whites and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. eat the egg whites on high speed until firm, about 1 minute. With the mixer still on high, slowly add the sugar and beat until it makes firm, shiny peaks, about 2 minutes.
- Remove the bowl from the mixer, sift the cornstarch onto the beaten egg whites, add the vinegar and vanilla and fold in lightly with a rubber spatula.
- Pile the meringue into the middle of the circle on the parchment paper and smooth it within the circle, making a rough disk with an indentation in the center. Bake for 1 ½ hours. Turn off the oven, keep the door closed, and allow the meringue to cool completely in the oven, about 1 hour. It will be crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. (NOTE: If you like your meringue a little more on the crisp side, crack the door of the oven open with a wooden spoon while the meringue cools. If you prefer it a bit softer, leave the door closed during the cooling time.
Sweetened Whipped Cream
- Whip the cream in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment (you can also use a hand mixer). When it starts to thicken, add the sugar and vanilla and continue to beat until firm. Don’t overbeat! Makes 1 cup.
Finishing
- When completely cooled, peel the parchment paper off the bottom of the meringue disk and put on a plate or platter. Spread the top completely with Sweetened Whipped Cream.
- Combine the strawberries, blueberries and raspberries in a bowl and toss with about ½ cup of the raspberry sauce, or enough to coat the berries lightly.
- Spoon the berries carefully into the middle of the Pavlova, leaving a border of cream and meringue.
- Serve immediately in large scoops with extra raspberry sauce.
Love it!
Awww…Thank you for reading my blog! I hope you enjoy the Pavlova!
That was fun 🙂
The dessert?! Thanks for reading my blog! I hope you enjoy both the story and the Pavlova!
Love the title and the story!!! Beautiful sentiment, history and a gorgeous looking dessert!!
Thank you! And thank you for your comments! I hope you enjoy the Pavlova!
But I don’t know how to dance, or like it. 🤣🤣. I’ll just eat fudge!!!
But the Pavlova is so light and fluffy! I highly recommend. And thank you for commenting!