Wednesday, March 26, 2008

How Does A Ballerina Stay Slim?

According to urban legend, the dessert Pavlova was named after famed ballerina, Anna Pavlova....go read it on Wikipedia yourself. Since I am not into ballet, I don't know who the heck Anna is, and couldn't care less, I just wondered if a dessert were named after me, what would it be? Probably something REALLLLLY fattening, rich, artery clogging, orgasmically good, (ahem)....quite the antithesis of a Pavlova, which is basically air trapped in egg white. A Pavlov, on the other hand, would imply salivating at the ring of a bell.

Anyway, I found myself staring at 6 egg whites, after making some tiramisu, and vaguely in the recesses of my alcohol destroyed brain, I recalled Lyrical Lemongrass saying she loved Pavlovas. Egg white, pavlova, egg white, pavlova. A strange connection was forming as the wheels in my head spun, and I thought, ah, why not. My last attempt had been an unmitigated disaster, the meringue was soft like a pillow, and the whole thing was like a giant, marshmallow that consisted of an entire sugar cane plantation.

As I was going out for Good Friday service, and drinks thereafter, (take care of the life hereafter followed by drinks thereafter....a good philosophy of life), I had to rely on the maids to follow my instructions for turning off the oven, and I really had to leave it to chance as I wouldn't be around to rectify any shortcomings.

Thanks to a tip given to me by Masterbaker, Nigel of JHP Fame, I told the maid to leave the meringue IN the oven overnight, and not to open the oven door at all, after switching it off. the next morning, as I arose with the mother of all hangovers, I was inordinately relieved to see that the pavlova was crispy on the outside.

So, here's what you do.

6 egg whites
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornflour
1 teaspoon vinegar

Beat the egg whites on slow speed until white and frothy, and gradually add in the sugar and cornflour, increasing the speed gradually, and finally add in the vinegar. Continue beating until stiff peaks form. Stiff peaks means if you turned the bowl upside down, the meringue wont fall out and when you lift the beaters, a peak will form, that doesn't wilt like a flower in midday summer sun.

Spoon onto a baking tray, lined with baking paper if non stick, in whatever shape tickles your fancy. I did one flat 8" disc, and one 8" diameter nest.

Bake in slow oven, 120C, for 1½ hours. Turn off oven and leave in oven as long as possible. (overnight in my case)


Filling:

2 cups whipping cream, whipped to stiff consistency. (careful, there's no turning back from overbeating your thing)
Optional, some sugar to sweeten the cream, but bear in mind, the pavlova is sweet.
Fruits of your choice, in my case,
1 punnet driscolls strawberries, RM23.90
1 punnet blueberries RM14.90
1 punnet jackfruit RM4
2 organic passionfruit RM5 (Cheaper than the imported passionfruit which are about RM6 each...the ones that look like withered testicles)

I sandwiched a layer of cream and strawberries between the disc and nest, and chucked the rest of the cream and other fruits into the nest. The result,....ta dah.
(Pictures are courtesy of Lyrical Lemongrass, linked on flickr, so Gal From Abu Dhabs... dunno if you can see)


Pavlova


Pavlova

It was a hit, if I may say so myself. [Patting self on back]. As Malays would say, enter basket lift oneself.

35 comments:

Tummythoz said...

So pretty such feminine colours! *soft genteel applause*

fatboybakes said...

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKS whattttt feminine colors? those are the colors of our beloved jalur gemilang, white, red, blue and yellow!!!! not feminine, NOT FEMININE!!!! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKS. (very macho-ly)

Anonymous said...

Yes, it is a rather pretty cake. The white folds resemble a lady's skirt. Now I know why I'm attracted to it. *clap clap clap tummythoz*

I loved the taste of the pavlova, fbb!! I only wish I could have it every week. *showing big puppy dog eyes at FBB*

Anonymous said...

Crumbly, fruity goodness...

Eh, but where got feminine colours? Isn't that pink? And don't guys wear pink too these days?

The ripe redness of the strawberries and the bold yellows of the passionfruit and jackfruit seem to lean towards masculinity if anything...

But feel free to ignore me; last thing I want to do is start a gender war over Pavlova...

fatboybakes said...

EXACTLY, kenny mah, high five bro. feminine pshawwwwww!!!!! oh well, since those blueberries look black, brings to mind that epic song from LES MISERABLES:
Red - the blood of angry men!
Black - the dark of ages past!
Red - a world about to dawn!
Black - the night that ends at last

lemongrass dahlink, it does NOT resemble the fold of a lady's skirt. it's the sheer face of the white cliffs of dover.

gender war ....reminds me of henry higgins song from my fair lady...

HIGGINS
Pickering, why can't a woman be more like a man?
PICKERING
Hmm?
HIGGINS
Yes...
Why can't a woman be more like a man?
Men are so honest, so thoroughly square;
Eternally noble, historic'ly fair;
Who, when you win, will always give your back a pat.
Well, why can't a woman be like that?

Snigger....
Oh well, men have fought over a lesser beauty than anna pavlova....

Big Boys Oven said...

Aiyoh! you really safe me, I have been wanting to make this for ages . . . I will try this recipe of yours! looks so adorable gorgeous!

HairyBerry said...

gosh, make love, not war, ppl...

i wonder what's the purpose of the vinager...binder, perhaps?

btw, how does a withered testicle looks like ar? does it translate to our layman term as "shrunk balls"? hmmm...

HairyBerry said...

oopss, vinegar, i mean...i seriously need sleep...

wmw said...
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wmw said...

It looks great. If you guys wanna fight...I'll stealth my way around and grab a bite of this amidst the commotion!

"Joe" who is constantly craving said...

wah...you know fbb..i really adore desserts..*desserts in general including what ever you bake* BIG HINT!!

fatboybakes said...

nipples, ...this from a guy who's never ordered anything from me before..hmmmph...

wmw, its a lurve fight, not a fight fight...so you cant stealth...

nic, yeah, i was thinking, vinager? is nic on drugs? so unlike him....hahahah. we ARE making lurve, ....who says this is war...

BBO, WAH, i am SOOOO HONORED that SEEFOO BAKER is going to try a recipe that I put up!!!

Anonymous said...

*ahem* U didn't answer Nic's question on the withered balls.

fatboybakes said...

LL, ah well, since you're too shy to ask what you really wanted to ask, i'm pasting our msn conversation here:

LL: i was so caught up with the feminine thing, i forgot to ask u how u know what withered testicles look like
FBB: go ahead and ask
LL: i ask u here lar
LL: u looked in da mirror ar?
FBB: no no, these things must be asked in public

Have you ever heard the phrase, "eugh, tastes like s***"...would that literally imply that one has tasted s*** before? dahlink, God gave us unlimited powers of imagination......

BUT, if you must know, we arent that fat and unagile to be able to see what's down there.....yet....SNIGGGERRRRRRRRR!!!!

Anonymous said...

Hahaha.

Not many guys can be as honest as you, dahlink. You must show them to me some time. Maybe when you invite me over for more pavs.

fatboybakes said...

well, they aren't called "passion"fruit for nothing ma....

Anonymous said...

I was talking about the withered balls, which you readily admitted to having.

Tummythoz said...

Clearly question of feminity is beaten flat by talk of withered balls. M confused but somehow the last exchanges gave d impresssion there's a possibility of a public show & tell soon.

Oh, *clasp hands* if pavlova is served then, wouldn't it be loverly?

Jason said...

Wah... besarnya reaction :p

*puppy eye-ed*
Can I have one puhleasee?

Argus Lou said...

Was a tad worried when I started reading Lyrical's "like the folds of a woman's ..." Tchoi, tchoi!

FBB, you might turn green if I told ya a big punnet (is a punnet 250g or 500g?) of Spanish strawberries here are going for only RM10 each.

Beautiful, lavish creation there! Pavlova or Pavlov, you got me drooling anyways.
(I'm still getting over the 'bola kering' bit.)

Anonymous said...

So it's the imported passionfruit that look like withered balls? The organic ones look like full balls?

Speaking of which, I always thought figs were the ones that look like withered balls, esp the purple ones..

*grin*

BTW, how much is a 150gm bar of Green&Blacks (72%) going for at your end?

Anonymous said...

How can that Girl from Abu Dhabi equate figs (which I love so much) with withered balls. Please send her a new pair of glasses. And Argus is no better...trying to misconstrue my innocent words for something else. Tsk tsk!

fatboybakes said...

kaT, you can see the pics meh? yup, the organic passionfruits arent withered. yup some figs do look geriatric... and you cant even buy G&Bs here if you wanted to. i have a lovely G&B choc recipe book.

argus, thanks for dropping by. ya, i am envious...so cheap. actually can get 3 punnets of camerons strawberries here for RM11, but have to go all the way to the Curve, and only on weekends. with luck, some are sweet. anyway these american driscolls ones wernt sweet. bah.

jason, yahor. ok ok, will host a floggers "taste my withered passionfruit" session soon.

tummythoz, see above reply to jason...nyahhhahaha. donch blame me if you go blind.

Anonymous said...

I gather LL is so enamored with purple figs because their color and shape is so similar to B.Eagle's....

..head??

Oohh.. I just bought 2 bars of G&B for less than RM10 each. On offer, exp date Jul 08. Come May, I'll see if there are any more (of cos longer expiry ones lah) and bring you back some.

Egyptian strawberries on season now - cheapest I have ever bought was RM2.95 per punnet. Not super sweet, but not sour either. I was piling them all on my cheesecake!

BTW, I have no microwave. I used it twice, then it kaput-ed after I spent hundreds of bucks on shipping!! So have to use old-fashioned way to melt choc.

JOjo said...

Gosh....Super gorgeous looking la, u might want to consider to open a bakery after your retirement???

Anonymous said...

this is one good looking pavlova, that's why there is a difference between amateur and professinal. you are a pro brother!

daphne said...

That's so pretty!!! I can just imagine the crisp exterior and soft insides. The sweetness of the meringue and tartness of the fruits will be lovely.

Mh said...

wow...tat really look great. Mine look like a piece of blob the first time I tried. Recipe looks very simple but turned out to be a disaster. Will tryout yours though...looking at that lovely creation of yours...haha....I'm game for another try!!

Bravo!!

teckiee said...

Didnt know about the twinkle toes part. And I totally suck with the meringue. Tried it twice.. arhghghgg... i give up

Simon Seow said...

Really tempting. Just by looking at it i feel like I can taste it.

Anonymous said...

It's beautiful :-) The swirls look like Anna Pavlova's tutu frills when she does the pirouette. Heh.

fatboybakes said...

young sam, surely anna pavlova's tutu cant be during YOUR era.

simon, very good imagination you have there hor.

teckiee, what twinkle toes? [blank look]

mh, yalar, try again, afterall, its only egg white. you can use your egg yolks to make a creme patissiere.

daphne, you lucky la, in oz with all these colorful fruit so cheap.

AUDREY, youre back!!! how's baby?!!! welcome back to blogosphere. thanks,not a pro, just lucky this time.

jojo, oh dear, i had hoped to retire after my retirement. if i dont have the energy for a bakery now, i doubt i'll have any when i retire....but thanks for the compliment.

kat, grrrr......greeen with envy at the price of strawberry. durian can get or not?

Anonymous said...
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Flower said...

Friend, no need to enter basket and lift oneself. I'll lift the basket for you. Cantik lah. Very inviting lah.

Deepa Kuber said...

OMG! that looks so yum! i will definately try some cake recipe from ur blog..