urban odds & ends

During the jam making session with my friend Lisa I finally prepared this traditional australian dessert. It was about time! I don't know why, but back in december in Australia I didn't had the chance to try it but now, with 5 egg whites waiting in the fridge (leftovers from ice cream making ;) ) I jumped right into the adventure.

Pavolva with Strawberries serves 4




5 egg whites
200g sugar
1 tsp vinegar
1 tsp starch
250ml heavy cream
250g strawberries, cleaned and sliced

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350F). In a greaseless bowl whisk the egg whites until they begin to thicken. Now add small amounts of sugar while stirring constantly until the sugar is incorporated and the egg whites form stiff peaks. It's perfect if you can turn the bowl around and the egg whites stay in it ;) Add starch and vinegar and whisk for a few seconds. This mass is called meringue should have a silky gloss. Spread the mass onto a greased baking tray - it should be around 3cm thick with a roughly round shape and an even top. Slip it into the oven and decrease immediately the temperature from 180°C (350F) to 100°C (200F). After an hour the meringue has hardened outside with a fluffy inside. For cooling down the pavlova just open the oven door and allow to cool until it has room temperature. Whip the cream and spread carefully on top of the meringue. At least mount the strawberries on top.

My serving tip is to place the pavlova in the middle of your table, give everyone a fork and dig right into "Mount Pavlova"! :)

Strawberry is one of my favorite fruits... slowly the strawberry jam I made last spring is coming to an end and the craving for fresh sweet strawberries, plain with a little sugar and whipped cream or on top of cakes, is hardly to resist. While the first pints of strawberries coming to the market I hesitate... they're still really pricey and not harvested in germany yet. But a few weeks ago Stephan and me couldn't resist and we bought a pint. The same evening we ate a few sliced over the yoghurt lavender ice cream I made. But the majority went into the strawberry yoghurt ice cream the other day. I was out of heavy cream so I made at first a light version. But the next time I  used the cream againg, not because of the taste - the light version was really d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s - only the texture was a little less creamy we like.

Strawberry Yoghurt Ice Cream yields ~ 500g

250g yoghurt
250ml heavy cream
100g sugar + 2 tbsp vanilla sugar
400g strawberries, stem removed and cleaned
2 tbsp brandy

Heat cream and sugar in a pot over medium high heat until the sugar and vanilla sugar is dissolved. Allow to cool. Mix the strawberries with the cream and blend until smooth. Take a spoon of it and taste... hmmm, delicious, isn't it? Now stop tasting... ha caught ya! ;) Stir the strawberry cream and brandy into the yoghurt until well combined.

Next Step Using Ice Cream Maker

Pour in your ice cream maker and follow the instructions according to your machine. Pour in a container and store in the refrigerator until use.


Next Step Without Ice Cream Maker

Pour in a container and freeze in the refrigerator. Stirring the mixture every hour until completely frozen.

Next time I plan to use some fresh mint to flavor the sugar/cream mixture while simmering a few minutes.