Pavlova is a light and fluffy meringue dessert named after the ballet dancer, Anna Pavlova.

The originator of pavlova is not actually known, and there is great rivalry between Australians and New Zealanders who both claim the recipe originated in their countries.

Australians say that pavlova is based on a cake baked by Bert Sachse at the Esplanade Hotel in Perth in 1935, while Keith Money , a Pavlova biographer, wrote that a chef at a hotel in Wellington, New Zealand, created the dish when Pavlova visited there in 1926 on her world tour.

Professor Helen Leach of Otago University in New Zealand quotes her copy of the 1933 Rangiora Mothers' Union cookery book as evidence to settle the argument, saying it was published two years before the Perth claim. She said the Rangiora book contained the correct name of the dish, the correct ingredients, and the correct cooking method. Professor Leach also has a copy of a pavlova recipe from a 1929 rural New Zealand magazine, and she is researching it.

Pavlova is made by beating egg whites and salt to a very stiff consistency before folding in caster sugar, vanilla, and vinegar, and then slow-baking the mixture to dry all the moisture and create the meringue. This leaves the outside of the pavlova a crisp crunchy shell, while the interior remains soft and moist. A popular tried-and-true recipe can be found in the Wikimedia Cookbook.

Pavlova is traditionally decorated with fresh fruit and whipped cream, notably strawberries, peach slices, passionfruit, and/or kiwifruit. Another common topping in Australia is grated Peppermint Crisp , a chocolate bar with hard peppermint flavouring. Factory-made pavlovas can be purchased at supermarkets and decorated as desired but rarely achieve home-baked quality.

Leftover decorated pavlova can be stored in the fridge overnight, but will absorb moisture from the air and lose its crispness. Undecorated pavlova can safely be left overnight in the oven in which it was baked, to be decorated in the morning.

See also: Cooking