Pavlova from Australasia

Does pavlova come from New Zealand or Australia?  I'm not going to get into that argument so created one from Australasia.  They say if the topping is strawberries it's from Australia and if it's kiwifruit it's from New Zealand.  For the sake of peace I put both strawberries and kiwifruit on mine.  The meringue base is quite tricky and you might not get it right the first time.  But it is worth persisting until you get it right.

6 eggs, separated
1 1/4 cups caster sugar
2 teaspoons cornflour
2 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
300 ml whipping cream

fresh fruit

Preheat the oven to 140 degrees Celsius and place the rack in the middle of the oven. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
Put the separated egg whites in a bowl and beat the egg whites with an electric mixer on medium speed. Beat until the whites form soft peaks.  You can use the egg yolks if you are baking pies at the same time.
Gently sprinkle the sugar into the egg whites, one teaspoon at a time. Don't just lump the sugar in the bowl and never stop beating the eggs until you finish the sugar. Your egg whites should now be glossy stiff peaks.
Sprinkle the cornstarch and vinegar on the meringue and fold in gently.. Add the vanilla and gently fold the mixture again.
Now gently spread the meringue onto the baking paper to make a circular base. Try and put extra on the edges of the meringue so it is slightly higher than the centre.
Bake the meringue for about 1 hour and a quarter.  Turn the oven off and leave the door slightly open to let the meringue cool completely. As the meringue cools, it will crack slightly and that is okay.

Only put the cream and fruit on just before serving otherwise it will make your meringue soggy which will make it collapse.

Cindy Vine is a South African living in Ukraine and is the author of Hush Baby, Defective and C U @ 8. All her books are available on Amazon in print and on Kindle.