If you’ve ever seen individual meringue cups/shells in a bakery and wondered what they are: They’re the base of Pavlovas*. Light and airy, they are filled with fruit to make an impressive gluten-free and fat-free dessert (photo #2).

Pavlova is quick-assembly dessert that’s impressive and low-calorie. It consists of a meringue base topped with fresh fruits. Most people buy the meringue shells at bakeries, but ambitious bakers can make their own.

In addition to individual meringue shells (“mini pavlovas”), the meringue is often shaped into a layers (photo #1). If you see meringue shaped into cake-like layers with fillings in-between, that’s a Swedish Midsummer Meringue Layer Cake.

In France, the meringue layers can be filled with crème fraîche, custard, fruit, mousse, whipped cream or other filling, and is called a vacherin (vosh-er-RAN).
 
 
PAVLOVA YEAR-ROUND

Pavlova is gluten-free, fat-free, a beauty for the Easter table and Passover-friendly: The ingredients are egg whites, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice and vanilla extract.

You can also add subtle flavor touches. This Pavlova, from chef Samir Nosrat, has touches of Indian flavors: rosewater, rose petals and cardamom.

While it seems a light and airy dessert for warmer weather, Pavlova is a year-round treat. It’s a good finale to a big dinner. And it can be tailored to every season:

 
 
PAVLOVA TOPPINGS

You can make individual meringue cups or one large meringue base.

Once you have the meringue shells:

 
Instead of coffee, consider serving herbal tea with a pavlova. Brew mint tea by steeping fresh mint leaves in boiling water. The combination is delightful.
 
 
PAVLOVA HISTORY

Pavlova is one of the most popular desserts in Australia, where it’s commonly known as Pav, for short. The dessert is named after the legendary Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, who toured Australia and New Zealand in 1926 and 1929.

Both countries claim to have invented this dessert, and have made it their national dessert. New Zealand may have the edge: Published recipes of fruit-filled meringue shells existed there without the name Pavlova.

According to chef Herbert Sachse of the Hotel Esplanade in Perth, Australia, the Pavlova was born at the hotel 1935. According to hotel legend†, it was named at a meeting at which Sachse presented the cake.

[1] A traditional Pavlova, family style. Here’s the recipe from The New York Times (photo Craig Lee).

[2] An individual or mini Pavlova. Here’s the recipe from Natasha’s Kitchen.

[3] Here’s a modern approach from Vaucluse restaurant in New York City.

[4] A Pavlova taken to the next step, at Capella restaurant in Washington, D.C. (now closed).

Years later, Sachse stated in an interview that he sought to improve the Meringue Cake recipe that he found in the Women’s Mirror Magazine, which was contributed by a New Zealand resident.*
 
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*Pavlovas are filled with fruit, but the shells can be filled with other ingredients, for example, custard, mousse or whipped cream.

†Source: Linda Stradley, What’s Cooking America.

[1] A special waffle iron makes sheets of waffle batter with egg/bubble indentations. The “eggs” can be pulled off as bites, or the entire waffle can be turned into a sundae or cone (photo courtesy Kirbie Cravings).

[2] Several egg/bubble waffle irons are available. Go for an electric version with nonstick plates. This one is from CucinaPro.

[3] Go for it: Put your favorite sundae ingredients into a Hong Kong waffle (photo courtesy CucinaPro).

[4] Cones are also fun, but there’s nothing to stop the ice cream from dripping out, unless you provide some type of holder. Vendors use heavy paper holders, like this one at Eggloo in New York City.

If waffles and bubble wrap had a child, it would be bubble waffles, a.k.a. Hong Kong waffles or egg waffles (photo #1).

We celebrated International Waffle Day on March 26th, by purchasing a bubble waffle maker (photo #2).

It has nonstick plates and turns out large waffles in less than five minutes. We are happy.

This Hong Kong street food has other names, such as egg puffs and eggettes. You can see why: The mold creates raised egg or bubble shapes.

The mold makes the edges crispy, while the puffs are airy. While any waffle is a good waffle, this is a unique waffle experience.

The waffles are popular street food, and can be eaten plain. It’s fun to pull off an “egg,” one bite at a time.

But, it’s even more fun to turn the waffle into a sundae (photo #3) or a cone (photo #4).
 
 
WHERE CAN YOU FIND THEM?

Hong Kong waffles don’t have much traction in the U.S., yet.

 
 
MAKE YOUR OWN HONG KONG WAFFLES

Kirbie of KirbieCravings will tell you how to make them.

 
 
THE HISTORY OF HONG KONG WAFFLES

Western ingredients became available in Hong Kong in the 1950s, when trade resumed post-World War II.

Given how recent that is in food history, it is surprising that there is no hard information on the origin of Hong Kong waffles. But here are some of the prevailing tales:

The waffles were created by a grocer as a way use cracked and broken eggs.

He or she created a batter that included flour, evaporated milk and custard powder (a popular British ingredient), and created a snack waffle. It became street food, cooked over an open flame by vendors in pans with egg-shaped indentations.

At some point, the familiar egg-shaped mold was invented to give the snack a more enticing appearance, and the snack became known as gai daan zai, which means “little chicken eggs” in Cantonese [source].

No one knows who invented the egg-shaped pan/waffle iron, either. The theory is that it was Hong Kong’s take on the honeycomb design of western waffle irons.

Or, perhaps someone saw a Danish aebelskiver pan, which makes large, egg-shaped pancakes.

Recipes vary, but they generally include eggs, flour, milk, and sugar, and sometimes baking powder or coconut milk.

They may become your new favorite waffle; and certainly, people will clamor for invitations to brunch at your house.

We would never have heard of mahlepi or mahleb*, a Middle Eastern spice, were it not for Greek tsoureki (photo #1), one of our favorite Easter breads.

Tsoureki, a soft, sweet and buttery braided yeast loaf, is famous for its embedded Easter eggs.

We’ve never made it because it’s a two-day process, and we never have enough room in the fridge to let the loaf rise overnight. But if you’re game, here’s a recipe from King Arthur Flour.

The traditional flavoring for tsoureki is a spice called mahlepi/mahleb. Most American bakers substitute vanilla, but for a deliciously authentic flavor, buy the real deal online.

Mahleb adds a unique cherry-bitter almond, sweet-nutty flavor that will delight lovers of marzipan.

You may like it so much, you’ll start adding mahlepi to butter cookies, muffins, pound cakes, scones and other baked goods and yeast breads.
 
 
WHAT IS MAHLEPI, MAHLEB, OR HOWEVER YOU SPELL IT*?

Mahleb is an aromatic spice that has been used for centuries† in the Middle East. It is made from the seeds of a particular species of cherry tree called the Mahaleb or St. Lucie cherry (Prunus mahaleb).

The cherry stones are cracked to extract the seed kernel, which is ground to a powder.

In addition to baked goods and other sweet foods, mahleb is in tresse cheese (jibneh mshallaleh, a string cheese from Syria.

scones. In Egypt, powdered mahlab is made into a paste with honey, sesame seeds and nuts, eaten as a dessert or a snack with bread.

In Greek cooking, beyond Easter bread it is used to flavor Christmas cake and pastries and eggy yeast cakes and cookies for the New Year, such as vasilopita (which contains a hidden coin or trinket that gives good luck to the recipient, like the Western king cake).

In Egypt, mahlab is made into a paste with honey, sesame seeds and nuts, and eaten as a dessert or a snack with bread.

[2] Whole mahleb seeds are ground into a spice (photo courtesy Migdisian | Amazon).

Look for it in Greek or Middle Eastern markets, or online.
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*The spelling in English varies based on transliteration: mahlab, mahalab, mahlep, mahaleb, etc. In Greece, it is mahlepi.

†Recipes for a seed that may be mahleb have been found in records from ancient Sumer.

[1] Set deviled eggs or Easter eggs in a planter of wheatgrass. Here’s how to grow wheatgrass from Country Girl Home.

[2] Deviled eggs in wheatgrass, at Essex Street Market | NYC.

[3] Turn your deviled eggs into chicks, with this idea from Julie Blanner Entertaining & Design.

It doesn’t have to be Easter to love this deviled egg idea (photo #2), spotted at Essex Street Market in New York City.

It’s so simple that we wonder why we haven’t seen it before.

While much fresh wheatgrass is sold in plastic trays, to be juiced at home, florists took notice of the graceful shoots and potted them in planters.

Get one, and nestle deviled eggs—or colored Easter eggs, or chocolate eggs—in the grass.

Afterwards, the planter of wheatgrass is an attractive home accent. It’s also a catnip alternative.

You also can do what many health enthusiasts do: Juice the wheatgrass and drink it for its vitamins and minerals. The straight juice has a powerful grassy taste, so many people enjoy it in smoothies.

Don’t add it to a salad, as logical as that may seem:

The grass itself is difficult to digest raw, and cooking diminishes its nutritional value.
 
 
WHAT IS WHEATGRASS?

Wheatgrass is the young grass of the wheat plant, Triticum aestivum. It grows into the tall stalks from which wheat is harvested.

Wheatgrass grows in temperate regions and can be an indoor or outdoor plant.

It grows very quickly, so if you start today, you can germinate wheat seeds and create your own planter.

We, on the other hand, are headed to the florist.
 
 
EASTER DEVILED EGGS

Tint the egg whites pink or green, and mix and match the garnishes. Here’s how.
 
 
 
 

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

The company operates food trucks and kiosks. If you’re hesitant to take on the carbs, give yourself a treat: They’re worth it.

In fact, the plain waffles are so good, we don’t even need any dinges (“things,” i.e., toppings, plus beverages).

According to the company, in 2007, Albert II, then King of Belgium, mandated that the Belgian Ministry of Culinary Affairs bring authentic Liege and Brussels wafels to New York City. What passed as “Belgian waffles” in the U.S. needed a serious upgrade.

Wafels & Dinges was born, and we thank King Albert.

The dinges include bananas, dessert sauces (caramel, chocolate, speculoos/spekuloos), ice cream, maple syrup (a nod to American preferences), Nutella, pearl sugar, powdered sugar and whipped cream.

Recently, the company introduced Tofu Boost waffles, using House Foods’ excellent tofu. You can’t taste the tofu, just a delicious, crisp waffle. But if you need an excuse, call it an excuse to eat protein.

Locations of the Wafels and Dinges trucks vary, but you can call 866-429-7329 or check on Wafelsanddinges.com.

They are hand-delivered in New York City and shipped everywhere. Take a look.
 
 
> CHECK OUT THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF WAFFLES
 
 
ABOUT WAFFLE DAY(S)

Waffle Day began in Sweden, known as Våffeldagen. It was actually the result of pronunciation: “Our Lady’s Day,” Feast of the Annunciation, called Vårfrudagen in Swedish.

Vårfrudagen, celebrated on March 25th, sounds very similar to Våffeldagen (Waffle Day) in vernacular Swedish [source].

No one wanted to give up an occasion to eat waffles, so the new holiday, Våffeldagen, was designated to mark the beginning of spring.

A different Waffle Day was established in the U.S. on August 24th. It celebrates the anniversary of the patenting of the first waffle iron in the U.S.

The two holidays are now known in the U.S., respectively, as International Waffle Day (March 25th) and National Waffle Day (August 24th).
 
 
WAFFLE IRON HISTORY

The earliest waffle irons originated in The Netherlands around the 14th century. The waffles were baked over the fire in the hearth.

[2] Wafles & Dinges truck (photo © BillyBoy | Forums.Roadfood.com).

[3] Liège waffles, made with pearl sugar (photo © Visit Belgium).

In the 19th century, the design was adapted to be used atop the kitchen stove. In 1869, Cornelius Swartwout of Troy, New York patented a waffle iron for stove top use, consisting of cast-iron plates joined by a hinge that swiveled in a cast-iron collar (here are photos of it).

In 1891 John Kleimbach, a German immigrant in Shamokin, Pennsylvania, created a waffle iron for the Mansion House Hotel and became a traveling salesman, spreading the joy of waffles [source].

Fast forward: In 1971, Oregon track coach Bill Bowerman used the family waffle iron to experiment with the idea of a new sole for track footwear that would grip but be lightweight. He became co-founder of Nike, which helped to revolutionize athletic shoes.

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*Brussels wafels/waffles are what America generally calls “Belgian waffles,” although Belgians don’t appreciate that nomenclature. Authentic Belgian waffles are not made with pancake batter, but with a yeast-leavened dough that produces a lighter, crisper texture.

Liège wafels/waffles are made with pearl sugar, a beet sugar. The pearls burst and caramelize when the dough hits the waffle iron, resulting in a dense, sugary waffle. Liège waffles are Belgian street food; Belgians eat them plain, without toppings.