Desserts were the first food I ever made. Christmas cookies with my mom and sister every Black Friday since I can remember. Then, later, pecan pies for Thanksgiving when I was still young enough to need help chopping the pecans. Over time, I branched out into other pies, cobblers, cakes, frostings, cookies, and scones, and now the Desserts section of my recipe box is twice as fat as any other section.
A few years ago, my sister bought me 101 Desserts to Eat Before You Die(t) for my birthday. I treated it like a novel, reading the recipes with mounting excitement, turning to a new chapter with palpable anticipation. Some of the recipes were wildly intimidating (Orange Creme Caramel with a real whole vanilla bean? Classic Sponge complete with warnings about not using a wooden spoon?), but some were just difficult enough to tempt me. Valentine's Day this year was the perfect excuse to be brave and check one of the 101 off my list, so I let Peter pick which recipe to try: Devil's Food Cake with Strawberry Cream.
Everything went well - the from-scratch cake, the slicing of the cake into two layers, my first ganache, the strawberry cream - until it was time for the chocolate curls. That one-sentence instruction, "Using a knife at a 45-degree angle, form long, thin curls by pushing the knife through the chocolate," was an unsolvable riddle. No matter which way I held the knife or pushed it through the thin sheet of melted and chilled chocolate, I could not get curls to roll up. It was hopeless. I had to settle for chocolate shards instead. And ultimately, when I served it, at our Brothers and Sisters Valentine's Dinner, I found the cake a bit dry. I think I baked it a bit too long. Thank goodness for that strawberry cream in the middle!
Since the cake was mostly a success, I turned to 101 Desserts again a few weeks ago, when we were hosting Pete's dad and mom for dinner. I picked a dessert from the chapter called "Sweet, Creamy, and Sticky Delights." It was Fresh Fruit Pavlova.
A pavlova is a meringue topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit. Whipped cream is easy for me. Two cups of heavy cream, some powdered sugar, maybe a bit of vanilla extract. Hit it with an electric beater for a few minutes, and it's heaven. For the top I chopped up bananas, strawberries, and kiwis, and swapped blueberries for the traditional passion fruit pulp
But I'd never made a meringue before.
Even worse, I didn't even know if I liked meringue.
Meringue is mostly egg whites and sugar with a bit of cornstarch and vinegar. I followed the directions, and finally, as promised, the "soft peaks formed" and the meringue was "stiff and glossy." After baking and cooling, the meringue had a large crack across the top, but it was "pale and crisp." Perfect, according to the recipe.
After we had our dinner, I topped it with the cream and fruit, hoping for the best. I sliced it into big wedges, served it up, poured coffees, and then - finally - we tasted it.
Oh, wow. We fell hard for this dessert. Even Pete, who doesn't even like dessert, loved it. The meringue had a crispy shell and a soft, marshmallowy, ultra-sweet center. It was rich, but not sickeningly so, airy enough and fresh enough to keep from being heavy. A dessert that's 50% whipped cream? Count me in!
I am no kind of fancy chef. But making a pavlova sure made me feel like one. The leftover meringue even stayed crispy in the fridge!
And so, success. 101 Desserts, you've got me hooked. Two down. Ninety-nine more to go.
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