They reckon Bert Sachse, a chef in Perth, Western Australia, created the dessert but his recipe is believed to date from around 1935. They also claim to have a Pavlova recipe dated 1926, the same year as New Zealand's recipe. However, the Aussie version has jelly as a base.
A recipe for pavlova cake was published in The Evening Star on 10 November 1934. It has also been claimed that Bert Sachse created the dish at the Esplanade Hotel in Perth, Western Australia, in 1935.
pavlova, meringue-based dessert of Australian and New Zealand origin that is commonly topped with whipped cream and fruit and served at holidays. New Zealanders and Australians compete for ownership of pavlova, which in both countries is an iconic national delicacy.
The claim that it was an Australian invention states that the pavlova is based on a cake baked by Bert Sachse at the Esplanade Hotel in Perth on 3 October 1935. Sachse's descendants believe he may have come up with the recipe earlier than that, since Anna Pavlova visited Australia in 1926 and 1929 and died in 1931.
In its relaunched online edition, the dictionary says the first recorded Pavlova recipe appeared in New Zealand in 1927. This was in a book called Davis Dainty Dishes, published by the Davis Gelatine company, and it was a multi-coloured jelly dish.
Despite neither Australia nor New Zealand actually birthing the Pavlova – credits to Germany's torte that began to evolve in America, before heading down – both countries have become the lucky ones who are the guardians of this well-loved dessert.
Pavlova is a popular and a national dessert in Australia. It is a meringue-base cake that has a light and crisp crust with a soft marshmallow center. It is usually served with whipped cream topped with fruit.
On the Australia side, chef Herbert “Bert” Sachse is said to have created the pavlova at Perth's Esplanade Hotel in 1935, and it was named by the house manager, Harry Nairn, who remarked it was “as light as pavlova”.
Sure, Australian chef Bert Sachse, from Perth's Esplanade Hotel, might have made this baked meringue dessert famous in 1935 as a homage to ballerina Anna Pavlova (who, some six years earlier, had stayed at the hotel on her second Australian tour in 1929).
This Australian cake was first invented in Queensland, with a recipe appearing in the Queensland Country Life newspaper as early as 1900. According to Queensland Government House, the lamington was created by the chef of the state's eighth governor, Lord Lamington, to feed unexpected visitors.
The Russian-born ballerina Pavlova trained at the Imperial Ballet School in St Petersburg and graduated in 1899. She first danced her incomparable Giselle at the Maryinsky Theatre in 1903 and took the role of Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty in 1908.
Lemon Meringue
In the end, neither New Zealand nor Australia can really claim to have birthed the pavlova: They didn't invent the recipe, and they weren't even the first to name a dessert after the dancer (Wood and Utrecht found a recipe for "strawberries Pavlova" dating from 1911).
Apologies dear readers but there is no delicate way to break such culturally sensitive news – the pavlova belongs to the Americans and the English. It is well known that Australians and New Zealanders have a rich history of gentle ribbing.
The origin of meringue
It was invented in 1720 by the Swiss pastry chef Gasparini, although some sources say it already existed then and was only improved by this illustrious chef. French and Italian chefs each created their own version, so today there are three different types of meringue: French, Italian, and Swiss.
So, where is the lamington from? Despite some interesting claims from New Zealand, the origin of the lamington began between 1896 to 1901 in Toowoomba, Brisbane.
With her 1926 tour of Australian cities including Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide , Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, formerly principal artist of the Russian Imperial Ballet, became the first world-famous ballerina to tour Australia and around the world.
Pavlova. The first and most iconic Australian dessert recipe is without a doubt – Pavlova. With a delicate meringue crust on the outside made with egg whites, soft marshmallow inside and topped with whipped cream and seasonal fresh fruit, Pavlova is always present at parties and celebrations, or a casual backyard BBQ.
Pavlova. The quintessential Aussie dessert is the Pavlova. A soft marshmallow encased in a crisp but delicate meringue shell topped with whipped cream and your favourite assortment of fresh fruit.
noun. pav·lo·va ˈpav-lə-və pav-ˈlō- often capitalized. : a dessert of Australian and New Zealand origin consisting of a meringue shell topped with whipped cream and usually fruit.