No leavening. No flour. Passover food rules have made desserts like flourless chocolate cake and macaroons traditional favorites for the holiday, and of course, at the Bakehouse, we love (and make) those treats. But, we also like bringing new traditions to the table, and one that we’re most excited about is Pavlova.

Pavlova is an iconic desert of Australia and New Zealand (there’s an ongoing argument over who exactly invented it), named after the Russian Ballerina Anna Pavlova, who performed in Australia and New Zealand in the 1920s. It is light, luscious, fruity, sweet, and cloud-like—and, best of all, it sticks to Passover rules!

As beautiful as they are delicious, Pavlovas are made with a base of vanilla meringue, which is baked until the exterior is crispy, creating a luscious contrast to the soft, smooth interior. It’s then covered with a thick, silky layer of unsweetened whipped cream (Trust us! There’s plenty of sugar in the meringue.) and decorated with seasonal fruit. For Passover, we’re using mango, kiwi, and raspberries.

We knew of pavlova but hadn’t actually understood their magic until a few years back when Kristy Carre, an Australian food writer who came to Zingerman’s Camp Bacon with her husband, taught us how to make them at BAKE!, our hands-on teaching bakery. Amy Emberling, a Managing Partner of the Bakehouse, fell instantly in love, and we’ve been making them ever since. They work for every season, and we offer them at Christmas, in the summer, and right now, just in time for Passover.

Don’t miss out on this simple, unexpected dessert. One bite, and you’ll probably want to make it a tradition.

Pavlovas are currently available daily at the Bakehouse and the Deli’s Next Door. You can also order yours for Passover. Give us a call: 734-761-2095

Amazing Pavlova

There are lots of things I love about summer – my birthday lands on the first day, June 21st, flowering gardens, sultry nights with singing crickets. And now I have a new love—the summer dessert Pavlova!

Pavlova is the iconic dessert of Australia and New Zealand, named after the Russian Ballerina Anna Pavlova, who performed there in the 1920s. It is a light, luscious, fruity, sweet, cloud-like dessert. It begins with piping a round of vanilla meringue and baking it until the exterior is crispy, but the interior remains soft and smooth. It’s then covered with a thick wavy layer of unsweetened whipped cream (plenty of sugar in the meringue for the entire dessert) and generously decorated with colorful seasonal fruit. In the land down under, it’s most popular in the summer, so passion fruit, mango and kiwi are common choices. Christmas is a summer holiday there and Pavlova is regularly featured as dessert at the end of the main holiday meal. It looks indulgent—totally fitting for a celebratory meal.

We learned about Pavlova from Kirsty Carre, an Australian food writer who came to Zingerman’s Camp Bacon with her husband, Steve, last June. While in town she put on a demonstration class for students at BAKE! where she taught us about Pavlova. I fell in love with it right away! We had an extra one and I spent an hour walking around the bakery, a little reluctantly, sharing samples with everyone. Trust me, it’s good. But you don’t have to take my word for it.

You’ll find Pavlova at Zingerman’s Bakehouse this July and August, made with local summer fruit. Enjoy them while you can!

Amy Emberling is Co-Managing Partner of Zingerman’s Bakehouse