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Personal Pavlova Recipe

The Pavlova is one of those bits of food magic that everyone should make once. While it may look intimidating, at its heart it is as simple as strawberry shortcake. You're not afraid to make strawberry shortcake, are you? I didn't think so.

This combination of meringue, whipped cream and fruit is a classic dessert in Australia and New Zealand where it was created as a tribute to the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova. (Imagine a ballerina in a white tutu floating across the stage.) There is a bit of a kerfluffle brewing at the moment over whether bragging rights for the pavlova belong to Australia or New Zealand, but truth be told, I don't care a bit. 

Pavlovas combine some of my favorite things: the lightly crunchy exterior of the meringue that gives way to an almost marshmallow center, barely-sweetened whipped cream, and fresh berries. Sweet. Simple. Perfect.

And easier to make than you may think.

Adorable Strawberry Mice Treats

One of the upsides to my broken arm is virtually endless time to wander around other people's sites and see what's new and tasty looking. One of today's find is these totally cute mice that Sadaf Trimarchi whipped up for the inevitable, and often dreaded, treat day at school. Rather than give in to the temptation of sugary snacks - and in a class with 13 individual birthday celebrations slated for January alone, those sugary treats are nearly an everyday thing - she got creative with fruit.

She made mice!

A strawberry body topped with sunflower seed ears, tiny chocolate chip nose, a snip of licorice for the tail, and dabs of gel frosting for eyes makes a truly cute little critter. Each mouse was perched in a foil cupcake paper with a blueberry and a chunk of Swiss cheese to nibble. Mice get hungry, you know.

My favorite part of her story is the kids who were headed home to tell their parents that they ate a mouse at school! What I would have given to see the faces in response to that!

Read Star of the Week at Little Monkey and Friends.