In Australia, the popular summer Christmas dessert named after a ballerina is Pavlova.
Pavlova is a meringue-based dessert with a crisp outer shell and a soft, marshmallow-like centre. It is usually topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit, commonly passionfruit, strawberries, kiwifruit or other soft fruit. Because Christmas falls during Australia’s summer, pavlova suits warm-weather celebrations better than many heavy baked desserts.
The dessert was named for Anna Pavlova, the celebrated Russian ballerina, after her tours of Australia and New Zealand in the 1920s. The exact origin remains a long-running Australia–New Zealand dispute: both countries claim a role in creating or popularising it. That disagreement does not change the answer to the quiz question, since Pavlova is a defining dessert in both countries’ cuisines.
Pavlova is sometimes confused with an ordinary meringue or with a baked Alaska. Meringue is the broader confection, while pavlova is recognisable for its cake-like form, soft interior and cream-and-fruit topping. Its name is pronounced differently in different English-speaking communities, but the dessert itself remains the same celebrated Christmas staple.