Pavlova appears as a signature dish in 1 New Zealand cities. See each city's local variant and where to eat it.

Pavlova · Auckland

Pavlova is the meringue dessert with a crisp shell and a marshmallow centre, topped with whipped cream and seasonal fruit. New Zealand and Australia have claimed origin for a century.

Pavlova is named after Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, who toured Australia and New Zealand in 1926. The first documented New Zealand pavlova cake recipe is from 1929, with a fuller version printed in The Evening Star in 1934. Australia's competing claim points to Bert Sachse at Perth's Esplanade Hotel in 1935. Researchers now trace pavlova's origins to the Austro-Hungarian Spanische Windtorte, adapted through meringue desserts in both nations. The dispute remains informally settled; the dessert keeps appearing on Christmas tables on both sides of the Tasman Sea.

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