Recipe: The Mysterious Meringue

My love affair with meringue started when my family was visiting one of my dad’s colleagues in France. They brought out an amazing dessert called “Mount Blanc,” a pile of chestnut puree, chocolate, whipped cream and wonderful meringue.

Then, in Australia, I was introduced to the pavlova. This dessert comes from either Australia or New Zealand, and I leave those Aussies and Kiwis who read this blog to fight out who claims ownership. It was indeed named after the famous ballet dancer, Anna Pavlova. When I was little I loved Anna Pavlova, mostly because I had a cutout doll of her and all her outfits. I also had one of Nijinsky, but that is not important to this story. Anyway, the first pavlova I ever had was perfect, crisp on the outside, creamy on the inside, piled high with fruits and whipped cream.

Years went by, and I tried and failed to make meringue kisses that tasted any good, let alone a pavlova. I was, in short, intimidated by the thought of making a meringue. Something about trying to get all the stuff right was just a little off-putting. But eventually, I determined to make a good one.

And I failed miserably. My first attempt was terrible. First of all, “corn flour” in Australian cookbooks does not refer to the American “corn meal,” but, in fact it refers to “corn starch.” Something that may have come as a no brainer had I been paying attention. Moreover, I discovered, it was inappropriate to add 1 tablespoon of vinegar when the recipe only calls for 1 teaspoon. The result was a collapsed vinegary mess that tasted gritty and corn flavored. But I wasn't to be deterred.

The second time I didn’t fool around. I added cream of tartar to help stabilize the egg whites, which was, in fact, not a part of the recipe I was using (replaced by the white vinegar). It worked well, and I presented my friends with a perfect pavlova:

PAVLOVA

• 3 egg whites
• ¾ c sugar
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• ¼ tsp cream of tartar
• A pinch of salt

Heat oven to 250 degrees. Draw a circle eight inches in diameter on a piece of wax paper and place on a cookie sheet. Beat eggs until foamy and add cream of tartar. Beat until soft peaks form, and begin to add sugar one tablespoon at a time. After each tablespoon, beat until sugar is dissolved. Once that is done, fold in cornstarch (if you use vinegar, add it here). Shape in the circle on the wax paper, with a indent in the middle. Cook for 1 ¼ hours, then crack the oven door and turn the oven off, DO NOT open the oven all the way until cool, probably about an hour.

Pile whipped cream and the fruit of your choice on top. My fruit of choice was raspberries and blueberries, and I drizzled the following key lime sauce over the top:

• ½ cup key lime juice
• ½ cup sugar
• ¼ cup water
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• A bit of port (I used a pear port from Horton Vineyards in Virginia. It is among my favorite dessert wines and I will write more on this later)

Mix all but the cornstarch together in a small pan and bring to a boil until sugar is dissolved. Stir in the cornstarch, and continue stirring until sauce thickens.

~Aurora