Sometimes you need to make dessert feel like a special occasion. Sometimes you want to present something towering, covered with cream, fruit, chocolate -- the works. Sometimes you don't want to bake a cake, however. The pavlova recipe is for those times. These crispy-on-the-outside, tender-and-chewy-on-the-inside meringue spectacles are one of our favorite summer desserts to employ when we really need to bring the house down.
The pavlova as we know it today was either invented in New Zealand or Australia, and is named for Anna Pavlova, the Russian ballet dancer. We don't know about you guys, but we'd be pretty flattered if someone named something this delicious after us. Now go whip up some egg whites, there are summer desserts to be made.