My own little tutu

It was a hit at work today. What, you ask? My Pavlova. Now I know most people have no idea what that is, or even what type of thing it is. Actually, it's a dessert. A very tasty one.

The name actually comes from a famed ballet dancer, Anna Pavlova. When she visited New Zealand and Australia on a world turn early last century, an industrious chef created this light concoction and named it after her. The name is apt considering it looks very much like a tutu.

It is a type of meringue, and very easy to make, though it looks spectacular when finished. The meringue is topped with whipped cream and then raspberries and kiwi. That, at least is the traditional topping, but after some discussion at work we decided everything from strawberries to chocolate to raspberry pie filling would all work incredibly well on top of the whipped cream.

That said, here is the recipe I made last night, which I adapted from Culinary Concepts.

1/2 cup whole hazelnuts, divided

4 egg whites at room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon white vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon cornstarch

Whipped cream

1 kiwi, sliced thinly

1 small container fresh raspberries

Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Toast the hazelnuts for 7 to 10 minutes and then remove the skins by rubbing vigorously with a kitchen towel. Place 1/4 cup hazelnuts in a food processor and grind finely. You will need 1/4 cup ground nuts for the recipe, so grind more in needed to get 1/4 cup.

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until they are stiff. Slowly beat in the sugar with the mixer at medium. Then add the vinegar, vanilla, and cornstarch on low. Fold in the ground nuts.

Pile the mixture onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Smooth the top an

d sides as evenly as possible without flattening; it will do so naturally as it cooks. Bake for 45 minutes, then turn off the oven and allow to cool in the oven for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Carefully slide onto a serving plate. Spread the top of the Pavlova with plenty of whipped cream. Using a piping bag, decorate with rosettes, forming a ring around the outside edge. Decorate the center with sliced kiwi, then place a ring of raspberries around the kiwi. Finish by placing the remaining whole hazelnuts on each of the whipped cream rosettes.

Decorate Pavlova as close to serving as possible since the Pavlova will become soggy from the whipped cream. It will also become chewy if refrigerated for longer than 3 hours.

I wish I had a picture of the Pavlova I made to share with you, but somehow the camera on my phone didn't save the picture I took even though I told it to. Technology, grrr. . . The one in the picture actually has pomegranates on it, which just goes to show how versatile this dessert really is.