FOOL PROOF PAVLOVA AND HOME MADE HERB VIEGARS

Pavlova is a favourite with us , I find it so very easy to make and yet people often tell me that their attempts are never a success, so here is a recipe with always works for me, try it and see.

First of all make certain that the bowl, the whisk and any other implements are clean and grease free, egg whites will not whip up where grease is present. Cut a ten inch circle of non stick greased proof paper and place on a baking sheet.
You will need
3 egg whites
6 oz caster sugar
half a teaspoon of vinegar
half a teaspoon of cornflour
half a teaspoon of vanilla essence

Put egg whites in to a clean bowl and beat until it forms soft peaks, using an electric hand whisk makes this a very fast process. Now begin to add the sugar a very little at a time beating all the while. Adding too much sugar at once is the most common cause of sloppy merangue mixture.
When the egg whites and sugar are stiff and glossy add the vinegar, cornflour and vanilla essence ans fold in carefully.

Put a dab of the mixture on the back of the greased proof paper to stop it sliding abput and the carefulle place spoonfulls of the mixture on the sheet, these should be dessert spoon size and should form a hollow circle. Fill in the centre whith the rest of the mixture and using a fork flick up the inner edge of the outer ring,
Bake at 310oC for one hour and fifteen minutes and the switch off the oven , leaving the Pavclova inside to cool . When cold remove carefully from the baking sheet, place on a large flat plate .The Pavlova should be crisp on the out side and have the texture of marsmallow in the middle, many a perfect Pavlova has gone in to the bin because the cook believed that it should be crisp all the way through like those dreadfull shop bought merangue case. Fill the centre with cream and decorate with you favourite fruit.

Freshly toasted hazel nuts can be added to the mixture with the vinegar etc, and the crean filling can be topped with white and dark chocolate shavings and choclate or rasbperry sauce.
I hope this works for you good luck.

I picked lots of herbs today somw of which I shall dire and some I shall use to make herb vinegar.
Herb Vinegar
10t malt vinegar
half an ounce of chopped shallot
Rind and juice of half a lemon
2 cloves
A sprig each of Thyme,Basil,Savory,Marjoram,Tarragon and 1 bay leaf.
Simmer all the ingredients for twenty minutes, Cool and then strain the vinegar. Bottle when cold. Use with plain vinegar and olive oil to make salad dressing.
If you do not have all these herbs just use what you do have and if you like things hot add 2oz of grated Horseradish at the boiling stage.