CHRISTMAS RECIPES!!! :)

Pavlova

This dessert was invented as a tribute to the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, who toured New Zealand and Australia in 1926. Pavlova is made of meringue and cream and is usually topped with kiwifruit.

The pavlova has long been at the centre of a trans-Tasman argument. Both New Zealanders and Australians steadfastly maintain they invented it. However that argument has now been settled and New Zealand have come out the victors.

PAVLOVA

3 egg whites 1 tsp vinegar

3 tablespoons cold water 1 tsp vanilla essence/extract

1 cup caster sugar 3 teaspoons cornflour

Preheat oven to 150C(300F)

Using mixer beat egg whites until stiff, add water and beat again, add sugar very gradually while still beating. slow beater and add vinegar and cornflour, mix in well.

Line a tray with baking paper and draw a circle on the paper no larger than 8″, spread egg white mix into the circle evenly.

Bake for 45 minutes then turn oven off and leave to cool in the oven. Don’t allow top to brown if at all possible.

Carefully slide onto serving plate, decorate with whipped cream and fruit of your choice. In NZ we traditionally use Kiwifruit.

The pavlova can be crunchy, airy,chewy but definitely scrumptious.

Pavlova can also be made in a Swiss roll tin, when cooked and cooled

turn the meringue onto a piece of baking paper sprinkled with icing sugar. Spread the whipped cream over the meringue then add your favourite fruit eg. strawberries, pineapple, peaches, mangoes, blueberries etc.

Starting from the short end, gently roll the roulade away from you, using the paper to keep it in shape. Slice and serve.

Karen I would love the pound cake recipe…email addy is on the card list.

I made my last ham almost the same way. Poured cherry coke over it and had at least an inch in the dish, covered it tight with alumium foil and baked for the correct time. It was SO delicious!! Tender and yummy! Mmmmm…

Yes, MC it WAS very tender and absolutely yummy! Wow, I bet the cherry wine made it great tasting as well. 🙂

This is a simple raspberry trifle (you can use strawberries) from the same book. (It really is a lovely book.)

Sponge

6 egg yolks

1/2 cup/115 ml hot water

3/4 cup/150 grams caster sugar

1 1/2 cups/180 grams flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

2 tablespoons melted butter

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F or 190 Celsius and line a shallow tin with baking paper or grease and flour it.

Beat the egg yolks, then pour on the hot water and keep beating until they are pale and fluffy. Gradually beat in all the sugar. Sift the flour and baking powder over the eggs and fold in carefully. Add the melted butter and fold in. Pour into the tin and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden and risen. Remove from the oven and leave for a few minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

For the trifle:

2-3 cups raspberries

2 cups/450 ml full cream milk (you can use half milk, half cream)

1/2 pint/300 ml cream

4 eggs

2 tbsp/30 grams caster sugar

1 tsp flour

1 little vanilla essence

sherry (or sweet wine or fruit juice)

Sprinkle the raspberries with a little caster sugar and set aside.

Put the milk and cream into a bowl over simmering water and heat until almost boiling.

Whisk together the eggs, sugar, flour, and vanilla essence until just combined (not foamy).

Pour the hot milk over the egg mixture, stir well with your whisk and return to the bowl over the heat.

Stir constantly with a wooden spoon for 3-4 mins until the custard starts to thicken slightly. (Not gloopy but creamy.)

Remove from heat, strain into a bowl and set aside to cool. Sprinkle a little caster sugar on top to stop a skin forming.

Take a pretty bowl and arrange fingers of the sponge in the middle of it. Sprinkle with the sherry so that it’s damp. Fill the gaps with the raspberries. Pour over the cooled custard and leave to set, then cover with whipped cream. Decorate with more raspberries.

Hope so, Deb 🙂 I think they’re yummy, anyway 🙂 Lemon curd always makes me think of my brother as a young boy, he loved it more than just about anything else in the whole world 🙂