Australia Day

Happy Australia Day!
We went to the local city celebrations, but the heat beat us and we came back home after an hour or so (yeah I know what wimps we are).
Couldn't let the day pass without some real Australian food on the table...
Loving my "Pavlova Plate" - this was one of the first things I bought when I moved out of home.

It didn't take long to whip up...

cook...

and decorate...

I haven't cooked a "pav" in this new oven, and will either have to lessen the cooking time or lower the oven temperature because it's just a bit overdone (not that I've had any complaints...).
These are so easy to make and although I didn't use the recipe on the plate, it was very close to what I did.

INGREDIENTS:

4 egg whites

1 cup caster sugar

1tsp vinegar

1 tblsp of cornflour

additional 1/4 cup of caster sugar

METHOD:

Beat egg whites till soft peaks form, then gradually beat in caster sugar until it is all dissolved and the mixture is thick (this step took me about 10 mins but I hardly noticed because I was daydreaming about FMQ-ing my next tablerunner!). Sift cornflour over mixture, add vinegar and extra sugar and fold through the meringue.

Put a 23cm circle of baking paper on your plate (or tray) and spread out meringue, almost to the edge. Run a spatula around the edges and "pull" the edge up to make a wall around the pavlova.

Bake in a 150 C oven for 50 mins or until the top is just dry to touch.  Turn oven off and leave to cool in the oven with door ajar.

When cold: top with whipped cream and fruit of your choice.

There was general agreement on the toppings shown and we had extra bowls of berries so the berry lovers could add what they wanted to theirs.

Gotta run, the cricket's on and the pavlova is cold...aaahh yes...the perfect AUSTRALIA DAY.

Edit: Don't forget to enter my giveaway here

thanks for taking a peek over the fence...