Kylie, The Iced VoVo Pavlova

The classic Iced VoVo biscuit gets a makeover today-now you can make the raspberry coconut treat in a pavlova form! The pavlova is a cinch to make in a tin and is layered with coconut, raspberry jam, fresh raspberries and billows of pink whipped cream! And what else could I call her but Kylie?

As I brought this to my parents' house for a try my mother reminded me how much I used to love this biscuit. I didn't want to tell her that I used to love the top of the biscuit, scraping the jam and pink fondant marshmallow off with my teeth secretly discarding the biscuit part.

But in this Iced VoVo Pavlova there's nothing to discard or no bad bits. It's a light, fluffy pink hued delight. There are two perfect combinations here-pavlova and whipped cream is the first and the second is raspberry and coconut. Even my fruit hating sister ate the fruit (because it was on jam). And for me, anything with coconut is a winner.

Speaking of coconut, just before Christmas my friend Ute and I went out for dinner. We first checked out a brand new place-I don't usually go to openings but it was in the area and she was curious too. The food wasn't great to be honest and didn't warrant a return trip to review. Then we went out to dinner at another very new restaurant nearby. We ordered a crab and coconut dip that sounded promising. Ute took a bite. "It just tastes like coconut. I can't taste any crab," she said.

I took a bite and she was right. And then I went fossicking about in the dip and pretty much the whole dip was made out of shredded coconut, that looks sort of like crab. After some pretty average food and a coconut dip masquerading as crab we decided that this wasn't worth a visit too.

But this cake? It sure is! And I promise you this is one of those good masqueraded foods.

So tell me Dear Reader, has the same ever happened to you in a restaurant? And what sort of biscuits/cookies did you like growing up? And are you making anything special to eat on Australia Day coming up?

Iced VoVo Pavlova

An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott

The pavlova is best baked a day ahead

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 1.5 hours

• 5 egg whites, at room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups caster or superfine sugar
• 1.5 tablespoons cornflour or fine cornstarch
• 1.5 teaspoons white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 600ml/21.2 fl ozs. cream
• 1/4 cup icing or confectioners sugar
• Pink food colouring
• 1 punnet raspberries
• 100g/3.5ozs raspberry jam
• 2 tablespoons desiccated coconut

Step 1 - Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Line a 16x25cm (6.4x10inch) tin with parchment on the base and sides extending up an inch above the rim.

Step 2 - In a completely clean mixer with clean whisk (the pavlova won't work if there is any grease in the bowl or on the whisk), whisk the egg whites until soft and foamy. Then add the cornflour and vinegar and whisk again and then add the sugar in a steady stream while it is mixing. Whisk until you get firm peaks-that is you can tip the bowl upside down (careful! ;) ) and the meringue doesn't move.

Step 3 - Scoop into the prepared tin and place in the oven immediately turning down the heat to 130C/260F. Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the pavlova to cool in the oven, preferably overnight.

Step 4 - Whip the cream with sieved icing sugar with enough pink food colouring to give it a pastel pink shade (I start off quite sparingly). Spread some of the cream in the centre where the pavlova may have sunken a little.

Step 5 - Place a stripe of jam down the centre and top with fresh raspberries. Then fill a large piping bag fitted with the largest star tip with the pink cream and pipe stars on each side of the jam. Sprinkle with the coconut and serve.