❘ From Mormor’s kitchen Pavlova’s white clouds
As a child, one of my favorite things was to listen to my Mormor’s stories. She was a great story teller, and told everything from fairy tales to real life yarns.
One of my favorites was from the 1920s; Mormor slipped and fell in a jewelry store in Copenhagen and was helped up by a very beautiful and elegant lady wearing a huge fur coat and pearls. The woman was none other than Anna Pavlova. Mormor loved telling that story and loved hearing it again and again. She would show me pictures of Anna and one day she told me of the dessert created in her name—the pavlova. Being the young foodie I
was, I demanded that we make one right then and there. Norway is not the perfect place to make a pavlova, as the weather can be very humid. Don’t attempt to make one on a humid day, it will fall like a bad soufflé. Mormor made a beautiful pavlova, white as snow, and filled it with whipped cream, strawberries, oranges, and topped it off with a drizzle of honey. It was divine. I wonder what dessert will be created in my honor…
Mormor’s Pavlovas MAKES 8
4 large egg whites pinch of salt 1 cup sugar 1 teaspoon corn starch 1 teaspoon white vinegar drop of vanilla extract whipped cream strawberries oranges honey 1. Preheat oven to 190°F. 2. Using a mixer, beat egg whites and salt for 1 minute. 3. Add sugar and beat for another minute. 4. Add corn starch, vinegar, and vanilla, and beat another 30 seconds. 5. Make pavlova clouds on 2 baking trays covered with parchment paper. 6. Make a little bowl shape in the middle of each. 7. Bake for 1½ hours. Turn off the heat and leave them in the oven for another hour. 8. Take them out and place on a tray or plates. 9. Top with whipped cream, strawberries, orange, and honey.
Food+styling+photography by Paul Lowe
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