Every year, I move into December with this feeling of trepidation. There is this tangible knowledge that the days until Christmas are numbered (not that they weren't before but there is now this sense of urgency) and with everything else happening around, time is so precious and short.

Fruit cake, gingerbread and christmas hampers!!! I look forward to planning, packaging, building and gifting these edible gifts every year but not so much the work that goes on in between... heheh! ;) Have I ever mentioned I'm a lazy baker? And as usual, I overestimate the amount of time I have and the number of hours that I (don't) need to sleep!

So this year, with my calendar completely overrun, working until midnight several nights per week doing my "real" job, a few social catch ups since coming home, normal orders and everything else that goes on in life, I managed to come up with most of the things I'd planned...There's always next year to do all the things you didn't right (new year's resolution?)?

So I came up with about 8 gingerbread houses, 12 hampers, a few hundred cookies, biscotti, gingerbread people / reindeer (or tribemen) and santas, shortbread, blueberry jam and salted caramel jars. 

However, my absolute favourite this year was my pavlova tree!!! It was sooo pretty and delicious and quintessentially Australian... everyone loved it! Who knew egg whites and sugar could be so much fun...

There is always a certain amount of trepidation when I make pavlova. And I reckon that the back-up plan of "smashed pav" (and let's face it, smashed pav / eton's mess / whatever you want to call it... they're really good at reinvention on Masterchef) was probably only invented because of the high degree of failure's with this airy cake!

I was feeling ambitious. I haven't actually made Pavlova since Christmas. I made it twice for Christmas. The first time, I wanted it to look like a wreath but it collapsed so we had to cut it into pieces with berry coulis and fresh fruit on the side. The second time, it was beautiful but probably too wide and not high enough.

But for some reason, I thought I'd manage making a 4 layer pavlova with whipped cream and tons of raspberries, blueberries and strawberries in between plus a very thin layer of tangy lemon curd in between to balance out the flavours. Kind of hard when you can't pile on too much weight to the shells. Pavlovas are made to order and I am reluctant to sell these as they are so delicate and pretty much need to be eaten straight away for it to still be crispy on the outside and marshmallow-y on the inside. Not to mention that the delivery part would just take years off my life...

But tonight I made a SMASHING cake!! Looked awesome (very hard to cut though!) and it's my Aunty Sandy's favourite! YAY! Very special birthday for her today... *shhh you never ask a woman what her age is beyond 30!*

Ended up with two marshmallow-y layers and two crispy layers and loads and loads of fruit. Yummo. So proud of myself here ;)

Yield 1 x 10-inch round

Ingredients
4 egg whites
1 C sugar
1 t lemon juice or vinegar
2 t cornflour
1/8 t cream of tartar

Method
1. Preheat oven to 110 degrees and trace a circle 8 inches wide on a piece of baking paper.
2. Beat eggs whites until soft peaks form.
3. Gradually add sugar, juice, cornflour and cream of tartar and beat until thick and glossy.
4. Spoon meringue onto prepared circle making sure it is even.
5. Bake for 60-80 minutes or until shell is crisp and hollow.
6. Allow to cool in oven.