[1][2] Taking the form of a cake-like circular block of baked meringue, pavlova has a crisp crust and soft, light inside.

[17] A 1935 advertisement for a chromium ring used to prevent the dessert collapsing also indicates that the term "pavlova cake" had some currency in Auckland at that time.

Research conducted by New Zealander Andrew Paul Wood and Australian Annabelle Utrecht found that the origins of the modern pavlova can be traced back to the Austro-Hungarian Spanische Windtorte.

It was later brought to the United States where German-speaking immigrants introduced meringue, whipped cream, and fruit desserts called Schaumtorte ("foam cake") and Baisertorte.

This recipe was a single-layered small cake, whose preparation consisted in two egg whites, sugar and cornflour, but with no vinegar, baked in a sandwich tin.

[21] One year later a recipe was published in the New Zealand Women's Weekly, which contained four egg whites, a breakfast cup of sugar and a teaspoon of vinegar, to be cooked in a cake tin.

[22] An article in Melbourne's The Argus from 17 November 1928 claims an "American ice-cream" was named after Anna Pavlova: "Dame Nellie Melba, of course, has found fame apart from her art in the famous sweet composed of peaches and cream, while Mme.

Rather, published recipes reveal the complex process of "social invention" with practical experience circulating, under a variety of names, across both countries.

The illusion of some singular invention can be explained by distinguishing a second, associated level of "social construction", in which cooks, eaters and writers attach a name and myths to produce a widely-held concept that appears so deceptively distinct that it must have had a definite moment of creation.

[24] Matthew Evans, a restaurant critic for The Sydney Morning Herald, said that it was unlikely that a definitive answer about the dessert's origins would ever be found.

Egg whites (and sometimes salt) are beaten to a very stiff consistency, gradually adding caster sugar before folding in vinegar or lemon juice (or another edible acid), cornflour, and vanilla essence.

The meringue mixture is placed on to baking paper and shaped to form a round cake around 20 cm (8 in) in diameter with a slightly recessed centre.

[26][27] Pavlova has a crisp and crunchy outer shell, and a soft, moist marshmallow-like centre, in contrast to meringue which is usually solid throughout.

[28] Pavlova is traditionally decorated with a topping of whipped cream and fresh soft fruit such as kiwifruit, passionfruit, and strawberries.

[3] Te Papa, New Zealand's national museum in Wellington, celebrated its first birthday in February 1999 with the creation of purportedly the world's largest pavlova, dubbed Pavzilla, which was cut by Prime Minister Jenny Shipley.