A Swan for Pavlova

This isn’t the Daring Bakers challenge. This is a swan pavlova made from a recipe by Stephanie Alexander (or here, via Nigella).

Why a swan? Well, the dessert honors Anna Pavlova, who was famous for her performance of The Dying Swan ballet (clip of her performance of this ballet on YouTube). She loved to watch swans and kept them at her home (rare clip of Pavlova at her home, with her swans). Want more YouTube on Pavlova? Here are some more pictures and information about her.One recipe of meringue was divided up between two sheets. I used an oval pan to make the base (about 6″ wide and 8″ long). This baked about an hour at 250 degrees (The oven started at 375 degrees). It cooled in the oven.

About a half hour into baking, I put in the sheet with the wings and swan neck. I spread some of the meringue (set aside) with an offset spatula.

I “glued” together the parts with melted white compound “chocolate.”

I ended up needing to reinforce the neck by coating it with white chocolate, and I glazed the back of the wings a bit as well (as reinforcement and waterproofing).

And from the back:

Here are a couple more shots:

And from the other side:

When I was ready to make the Pavlova, I spread whipped topping over the swan’s back in a mound.

And from the back:

Then I added fruit and shaved white chocolate:

Tags: Anna Pavlova, Blueberries, daring bakers, dessert, meringue, pavlova