It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...

Aloha Family & Friends,

With 12 days to go before Christmas...things are pretty hectic around here. Trying to get last minute gifts bought and shipped to the mainland before the big day arrives is a feat in itself.
All I can say is..."Thank goodness for online shopping and 2nd day delivery"!!!

When thinking of Christmas in Hawaii, some people have visions of Hawaiians decorating palm trees and substituting Santa Claus's sleigh and reindeer with an outrigger canoe and dolphins, Santa's elves wear aloha shirts and Santa is barefoot and carries a surfboard. ;o))

 

Most of the locals that I know are pretty traditional when it comes to Christmas. We import our Christmas trees long before the season arrives from Oregon & Washington. We look for the best grand firs, noble, and other popular varieties of fir or pine. We decorate our trees with keepsake ornaments and lights. We bake Christmas cookies and goodies and usually have turkey & ham with all the trimmings for Christmas dinner.   
We enjoy traditional Christmas carols, but we also enjoy carols sung in Hawaiian accompanied by ukulele or slack-key guitar.

When I think of Christmas I always think of delicious, decadent desserts! Below is a recipe for Pavlova that is so good........it would make Santa cry!!!!

 



Ali's Pavlova with Christmas Berries and White Chocolate Cream

INGREDIENTS:

• ¼ lemon
• 4 egg whites
• 1 cup caster or very fine granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2½ teaspoons cornflour
• 1¾ cups thickened cream
• ¼ cup white crème de cacao liqueur
• 1 vanilla bean, seeds only
• White chocolate shavings – optional
• 3 cups berries of choice, we used red currants, raspberries, pomegranate seeds etc…

METHOD:

1. Preheat the oven to 300˚F
2. Line 2 baking trays with greaseproof paper or wax paper.
3. Rub the bowl and whisk of the electric mixer with the cut side of the lemon (the acid in lemon helps to make sure the bowl is extra clean and stabilise the egg whites).
4. Lightly whisk the egg whites before adding the sugar gradually, whisk until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is thick and glossy.
5. Add the vanilla and sieve over the cornflour, whisk until combined.
6. Spoon 12 mounds of the mixture onto the lined trays – 6 on each tray or one large whole pavlova.
7. Bake for 1 hour, swapping the trays around after 30 minutes. Turn the oven off and cool in the oven for 1 hour before removing and cooling completely.
8. Whip the thickened cream with the white chocolate liqueur and vanilla seeds using the electric mixer or electric beaters until soft peaks form. Tap the top of the Pavlovas to collapse slightly and dollop heaped spoonfuls of the white chocolate cream into the crevices.
9. Top with berries and dust with confectioners' sugar… Christmas heaven!

recipe adapted from "What Katie Ate"

 

 

 



 

Aloha nui loa,
~Lynn Marie