Sometimes You Can't Improvise

My friends came over on Monday for an impromtu dinner, and I decided to make a quick and easy dessert that I saw in Food and Wine Magazine (May 2008) - Coconut Pavlovas with Tropical Fruit.

I didn't realize that I had no cream of tartar on the shelf, and it was getting much to late to run back out to the grocery store. Hastily I searched the Internet for a substitute for cream of tartar - although several sites out there suggested that white vinegar or lemon juice in an equal amount is a good substitute, I assure you it didn't work. There obviously is no substitute for cream of tartar.

Cream of tartar helps to stablize egg whites, when you are whipping them up for a meringue, or other uses. In this case, I needed a stable meringue to shape the Pavlovas into a nice cup to hold the fruit. Instead, I ended up with blobs of the egg white mixture that were not very nice looking in the end.

While my meringues were very tasty, and I highly recommend the recipe, make sure that you have the correct ingredients for your recipes before you begin cooking - especially when you are baking!