Canada Day Pavlova - AKA Canlova

I've been very, very bad about blogging lately.  Life and work has been too hectic.  However, since I'm making a special Canadian version of pavlova to celebrate Canada Day 2015, I thought I would take the time to post.

What is a pavlova?  It is basically a slowly baked meringue with whipped cream and fruit on top.  The Australians claim it is their invention - topped with strawberries and passion fruit traditionally.  But the New Zealanders also claim it as theirs - topping it with strawberries & kiwi. I made a grave error once while celebrating Australia day with friends when I combined all three, strawberry, passion fruit, AND kiwi.  It tasted good, but the kiwi didn't go over very well with the Aussies in attendance and were removed. (The kiwi, not the Aussies.)

So I'm calling this version Canlova since its only being topped with strawberries formed into a Canadian flag.  While this recipe is a little time-consuming, it is one of the easiest recipes you can ever make. It is ALWAYS a huge favourite - no matter how you top it. May I suggest strawberries & blueberries on the 4th for our American friends?

Canadian Pavlova (aka Canlova)

Recipe by Fluudbloggler

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 2 hours, plus 1 hour cooling time
Total time: 3 hours 10 minutes.
Yield: 8
Ingredients

• 6 egg whites
• 1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp Cream of Tartar
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp vinegar
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups whipping cream, whipped
• 1 quart strawberries, washed and hulled

Cooking Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form.
   
3. Add sugar, cornstarch and cream of tartar and beat until stiff and shiny.
   
4. Add vinegar and vanilla and beat until well combined.
5. Line bottom of 14" baking pan with tin foil, then grease lightly with butter.
   
6. Spread meringue into the pan, smoothing out as much as possible.
   
7. Turn oven heat down to 250.
8. Bake for 1 hour.
9. Turn oven off, keep pavlova inside the warm oven for another hour.
10. Cool completely, place on serving plate, gently peeling away the sides of the tin foil.
11. There will be cracks, so don't worry about that.  It's part of the appeal. 
12. Whip cream, adding 1/2 cup sugar.
13. Spread evenly over baked meringue.
14. Slice strawberries, splitting them in quarters, separating the ones with rounded edges from the completely flat ones.  I found it easier to used the rounded edge ones for the sides of the flag, and the flat ones for the maple leaf.
    
    
15.  Form flag on top of the whipped cream. 
    
    
    

Notes:  A regular sized pavlova is made in a pie plate, so for a 6 serving recipe, use 4 eggs, and a ratio of only 1 of all other ingredients (meaning instead of 1 1/2 tsp of something, use 1 tsp.)

Also, do not leave out the vinegar.  I did this once, and all I got was a meringue like you put on top of a lemon meringue pie.  The vinegar gives the pavlova it's nice chewy consistency.

Do not try to rush this either.  Cook at the 250 for a full hour, leave in the cooling oven for another full hour.