If you are entertaining guests for Christmas lunch and are tired of serving the typical Christmas cake, fruit tarts and trifle, here are a few reasons why Elmarie Berry suggests Pavlova:
- Plenty of people have no idea what it is. You’ll look like a pastry queen!
- It scales easily, and is economical enough to make for a crowd.
- It is endlessly customisable.
- It is ridiculously easy to make and does not require much active attention.
Pavlova is a cream-topped meringue dessert of Australian or New Zealand extraction, allegedly named for the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova whose grace and beauty were apparently best captured in a pillow of egg white and cream. In the dessert’s motherland(s), strawberry-kiwi and passionfruit are the most common fruity additions; in the West, berries tend to take centre stage.
Summer Berry Pavlova Recipe, paired with Lanzerac MCC Brut
Ingredients:
4 egg whites
250g sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp white wine vinegar
3 ml baking powder
For the topping:
500g berries (strawberries, cherries, blueberries, gooseberries, raspberries, etc.)
1 cup cream
3 Tbsp icing sugar
Method:
- Heat oven to 150°C. Using a pencil, mark out the circumference of a dinner plate on baking parchment.
- Whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks, then add the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the meringue looks glossy. Whisk in the vinegar, vanilla and baking powder.
- Spread the meringue inside the circle, creating a crater by making the sides a little higher than the middle. Bake for 1 hour then turn off the heat and let the Pavlova cool completely inside the oven.
- For the filling whisk the cream until soft peaks and whisk in the icing sugar. Fill the Pavlova and top with your favourite berries and some berry coulis.
- Instead of serving this light, fresh and summery dessert with a sticky sweet wine, wow your guests by ending off a spectacular lunch with a fresh and crisp Lanzerac MCC Blanc de Blancs Brut.
Lanzerac MCC Blanc de Blancs Brut is available from the Lanzerac Tasting Room this festive season, 7 days a week, at R180 per bottle. Visit www.lanzerac.co.za for more information.
Recipe developed & image supplied by Elmarie Berry Good Food
