Humble Homemaking: Yummy Thursday: Pavlova

Welcome to another Yummy Thursday! I can't wait to share some mouth-watering, delicious recipes from the last week in 'blog-land' with you all! :)

Please note: I am NO cooking expert. I play around in my kitchen and half the time something works and half the time it doesn't. The point is I appreciate food in a big way and just want to share that love with you. If you are looking for new Betty Crocker or Jamie Oliver style recipes... this is not your place to look. This is a place for just loving family friendly food.

The recipe from Humble Homemaking today is just a fun Pavlova Recipe, which is basially a Meringue topped with cream and fruit. I adore Pavlova and it is so easy and inexpensive to make. It whips up in no time and it a great dessert for guests at a dinner party! In the summer when Strawberries are in season we eat tons of this with fresh hand-picked strawberries. Pavlova is crispy and crunchy on the outside and should have a soft marshmallow center. YUM!

Here's how I make it....

Ingredients:

Eggs

Sugar (50g or 1/4 cup per egg used)

Cream

Fruit

To make:

1. Take your eggs. How many you use is up to you. I usually use 3 eggs and it usually makes a good sized Pavlova. Seperate the whites from the yolks and place the whites in a thoroughly clean mixing bowl. When whipping egg whites you want no grease present... sometimes I even run a kitchen towel with lemon juice around the bowl and over the mixers to make sure they are grease free.

2. Whip your egg whites until they reach the soft peaks stage. This means that you should be able to make gentle peaks in the mixture.

3. Start adding your sugar (50g or 1/4 cup to every egg used) very slowly into the egg whites whilst whisking constantly. You need to make sure you add the sugar gradually.... taking your time is important.

4. Spoon 2/3 of the mixture onto a tray covered with baking paper and smooth into a circle about 20 cm in diameter.

5. Spoon the remaining mixture in blobs around the edge of the circle and use a toothpick to swirl them into peaks.

6. Bake at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for about 30-35 mins until it is starting to turn golden (don't let it get very golden) and is crispy. Turn off your oven and leave the pavlova to cool IN the oven. This will avoid too much cracking as it cools down gradually. (some cracking is inevitable... as you can see in my picture!)

7. Whip some cream or use pre-whipped cream and spoon onto the pavlova. Top with fruit and enjoy. :-)

I should mention that this is by no means a perfect Pavlova! It cracked, browned too much and my strawberries are still FROZEN in the picture! lol. But I am trying to keep it real and let's be honest... how often do out family meals come out looking picture perfect? It tasted delicious so just give it a try... and if yours looks a little rough around the edges like mine then don't worry, it will still taste great... frozen Strawberries and all! :-)

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Feature Time

Here are my top 5 recipes from our Linky-Party last week. They look delicious!

Culinary Flavours presented another fantastic recipe of Creamy Pasta with Brocolli. It looks super yummy. Can't wait to try it!