Three Cheers for the Red, White, and Blue!

     There are two things that I truly excel at: being thrifty and laziness. If that paints a negative picture of me as a person in your head, than you probably wouldn't be sad about not getting invited to any of my parties anyway. This combo of learned skills is especially good for summer dessert making. No one wants to spend more than an hour in a hot kitchen making a dessert, and most of the time, you don't have to. Unless, that is, you're like me and have been roped into making a Grateful Dead tribute cake. What is life? Anyway, this last dessert I made was very easy to make, ticking the "lazy" box, and used up the extra egg whites I had leftover from making ice cream. Also, we went fruit-pickin and had to put the little gems to use fast.

     Patriotic Pavlova 

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     To begin, wash and prep your fruit to your liking. We kept the pieces pretty big because we're professional eaters. Once everything is prepped, add to a bowl and sprinkle with a few tablespoons of sugar, depending on how sweet your fruit is. Cover and refrigerate until needed.

     Next, you want to consider fillings. I had leftover pastry cream from the cake I made for my Dad, which you can view a recipe for here. You could also make a curd and/or whipped cream the landing zone for the fruit. Just make sure whatever you go with has cooled.

     To make the pavlova base, beat room temperature egg whites with cream of tartar and vanilla until foamy. Next, beat in the sugar, on tablespoon at a time, until glossy and stiff peaks form. On a lined baking sheet, spread the egg whites out into a flat circle, making the shape slightly concave. 

     Bake the base in an oven that has been preheated to 300 F but is then turned down to 250 F once the base has been placed inside. Bake for 50-60 minutes. Turn off the oven and allow the base to sit inside for the next hour and then remove. We had extra egg whites so some cocoa was added and we snagged a fabulous little beach treat.

     To assemble, just spread your filling of choice evenly over the base and cover with the fruit that has been macerating. 

     Is it weird that I picked an Aussie treat to celebrate the 4th with? Ask yourself this: who would we be if we didn't take in other's desserts and make them our own? Not America.

Recipe  (Adapted from "Your Homebased Mom")

300 F to preheat then immediately lowered to 250 F 

50-60 minutes

Pavlova base

4 egg whites, room temperature 

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1 c sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Filling (your choice)

2-3 c

Pastry Cream option

Fruit

3-4 c your choice 

1-2 tbsp sugar, based on sweetness of fruit