THAT UP?
The name of
the luscious dish often referred to as the National Dessert of Australia
(or New Zealand, as the case may be) makes reference to Anna Pavlova (1881-1931), 
the foremost Russian ballerina of the 20th Century, who made two tours
of Australia in the 1920's. In recent years it has become a question
in the Land Down Under and elsewhere of who first made and named the dessert
-- and where.
My own introduction
to the "Pav" was in California in the early 1960's, when a succession of
Australians from Perth occupied the house next door while on their "O.E."
(Overseas Experience). I thought of the dish as a variation on the
"Angel Pie" I knew of in New York -- a meringue shell filled with raspberries
and covered with sweetened and flavored whipped cream. The Australian
variation was apt to use more kinds of fruit -- 
strawberries
as well as raspberries, grapes, passion fruit if you could get it, and
the chinese gooseberries which were then just becoming popular as "kiwi
fruit." It also seemed to be a matter of layering -- the "Down Under"
folks put the whipped cream in the middle with the fruit on top.
In the intervening years the Pavlova has far outshone the Angel Pie in popularity (Google lists 36,400 references to the recipe online), and I suspect it has a great deal to do with the enthusiasm of the Australians and New Zealanders who spread the word (and the whipped cream) while contending over its origin.
According to the Australians, around 1935, a few years after Pavlova's death, Mrs. Elizabeth Paxton was the licensee of the Esplanade Hotel in Western Australia, where Pavlova had stayed while performing to enthusiastic crowds in Perth in 1929. Thinking that a new, scrumptious pastry would be an asset to afternoon teas that were then becoming popular, she asked her chef, Herbert (Bert) Sachse, to come up with something special. Sachse experimented for several weeks with desserts for the staff to sample, and eventually brought in a meringue and whipped cream tart covered with fresh fruits. They knew they had a winner when a staff member named Harry Nairn reportedly exclaimed, "Why, that's as light as Pavlova!"
That's the story they tell in Australia.
In New Zealand they point out that Anna Pavlova made an even earlier tour of the area -- in 1926 -- and it was then that the Pavlova was invented by a hotel chef in Wellington, New Zealand, replicating the look of a tutu, or ballerina costume, with the meringue and whipped cream of the dessert. This story was reported in a biography of the ballerina written in 1982. However, no mention of the dessert is made by Pavlova in her memoires, and apparently it was not widely publicized (at least by that name) when she made her triumphal return appearance to the area in 1929.
However, recipes for "meringue tarts" and "meringue cakes" were indeed published in cookbooks and magazines throughout New Zealand in the 1920's and were popular among home cooks. A recipe called "Pavlova" was put out at that time in a cookbook by an Australian gelatine company, but it was not the "Pav" as it is known today.
Many years later in an interview Bert Sachse said that he had read about a meringue cake in a women's magazine and decided to improve upon it.
So -- who is right? Is it an Australian or a New Zealand creation? I propose we call it an ANZAC invention, after the Australian and New Zealand Armed forces who fought so gallantly together in the 20th Century.
To read more about
the subject in detail, click on the following links:
Glen
Ralph's Definitive Discussion of the Pavlova Debate
Linda
Stradley's History of the Pavlova.
To register your opinion on the great debate, fill in the form at the bottom of the page.
Now, how do you make it? First, use metal not plastic bowls and have bowls and utensils dry and squeaky clean -- no grease!
Second, in addition to powdered or confectioners' sugar for the whipped cream, you'll need "superfine" sugar, also known as caster or castor sugar, for the meringue. Not always readily available in stores, it can easily be made at home using the metal blade of a food processor. Just process regular granulated sugar for about a minute until it is very fine; let it settle a bit before opening your processor.
Third, separate your eggs while they are cold, but let the whites come to room temperature before beating them into peaks.
Now -- here's the recipe!
PAVLOVA
4 large egg whites
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup superfine sugar
(granulated sugar processed 1 minute)
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons white vinegar
For the cream filling:
2 cups heavy whipping
cream
2 Tablespoons powdered
(confectioners') sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
flavoring
Fruit topping:
sliced strawberries
peeled and sliced
kiwi fruit
(and/or any other
fruit of your choice)
Use an inverted bowl or pan to draw a 7 inch circle on a piece of kitchen parchment paper. Cut the circle out and place it on a cookie sheet. (Or butter and flour the cookie sheet and trace the outline of a 7 inch bowl or pan with your finger)
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
In large bowl of electric mixer beat egg whites on medium speed until foamy. Add salt and increase speed slightly, beating until soft peaks form. Add 1 Tablespoon of the superfine sugar and beat for 1 minute. Repeat, adding 1 Tablespoon sugar and beating for 1 minute. Keep doing this until all sugar is dissolved into the meringue.
Mix cornstarch with
vinegar and fold gently into beaten egg whites.
Cover the circle
on the cookie sheet with the meringue. With a large spoon, make a
one inch indentation around the bottom of the meringue, leaving a
rim at the top all around. Place the meringue on a rack in
the center of the oven and IMMEDIATELY REDUCE THE TEMPERATURE TO 250 DEGREES.
Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the meringue is a pale tan color. Let cool completely cool before placing on a serving dish. The meringue will most likely have cracks, that's okay. You can keep the shell uncovered in a dry location for up to 8 hours.
At serving time, whip the chilled cream in a large bowl until peaks form. Add powdered sugar and vanilla, and whip until stiff. Fill the meringue shell with the whipped cream, and spread some over the sides and top (cover the cracks!).
Place sliced fruit
on top. Serve immediately.
Serves 6-8
For more recipes
and cooking helps, click on the photo of the Pavlova cake above or on these
links:
Illustrated
Instructions from "The Pastry Whiz"
Stephanie
Jaworski's recipe for a Chocolate Pavlova