Down Under Birthdays!

If you know my brother, you would know that he is not picky. He didn’t even want a birthday dessert at first. He isn’t much of a cake fan, so that was off the table–but he is a sucker for pavlova. Pavlova is an Australian classic that my grandma taught me how to make at a young age.

While I did miss the arguably most favorable part of pavlova; the passionfruit, I found a substitute. Cut me a break though; passionfruit is hard to come by in northern Wyoming and in much of the United States. It’s so difficult my grandma used to come home from Australia with cans of passionfruit in her suitcase, just to craft the family favorite!

Although this was not a totally original take on the dessert, I think I nailed this one, and my family agreed. After traveling to Australia three times, I can confirm, pavlova is their best dessert and I am excited to share my take!

Achieving stiff peaks, I add the cornstarch. This helps prevent cracking that you often see in the meringue after baking.

I spread out the meringue, creating a large middle to fill with berries and cream. Make the “walls” as tall as possible; you do not want your cream falling out! I baked this pavlova at 225°F for 2 and half hours. Then, I turned off the oven and left it in there until it was ready to serve.

Since I couldn’t find the elusive passionfruit I decided to try lemon curd. Recipe coming soon!

When ready to serve, make the whipped cream. I added whipping cream, vanilla, and confectioners sugar into a bowl, and whipped until stiff peaks formed.

Assembly time! I filled the middle with my homemade cream, and lemon curd. I topped it off with an assortment of fresh berries: strawberries, blackberries, blueberries and raspberries.

Happy birthday Liam!