ChildFund Wishes Kiwis an Egg-Cellent Christmas

ChildFund New Zealand and Bluebells Cakery Wish Kiwis an Egg-Cellent Christmas

• ChildFund New Zealand is celebrating with Karla Goodwin of Bluebells Cakery to highlight the gift of chickens and their eggs, and encourage Kiwis to continue their generosity this Christmas

• A pair of chickens purchased and given through ChildFund New Zealand's Gifts that Grow catalogue has the power to change a child's life

• In the past 10 years, 55,000 Gifts that Grow gifts have been purchased by generous New Zealanders, improving the lives of thousands of people in ChildFund communities

ChildFund New Zealand and Karla Goodwin of Bluebells Cakery had the egg-cellent idea to team up in this year's ChildFund New Zealand Gifts that Grow campaign to highlight the life-changing benefits chickens and their eggs have for children living in poverty in the developing world.

New Zealanders love eggs - we eat around 230 per person on average every year. More than just a nutritious and delicious option for any meal of the day, eggs are also an essential ingredient in the traditional Kiwi Christmas: Spiced eggnog, warm custard over Christmas pudding, leftover ham and eggs for breakfast, and of course pavlova with lashings of cream and berries.

However, for families in developing countries, chickens and their eggs are a rarity. To change this, ChildFund New Zealand is asking Kiwis, as they plan their Christmas menus and celebrations, to give a pair of chickens from ChildFund New Zealand’s Gifts that Grow catalogue to help a family in need.

“Giving a pair of chickens to a family in a developing country is like giving them a small business. It’s that powerful,” says ChildFund New Zealand CEO Paul Brown.

“The eggs and meat provide protein and nutrients for growing children and as the family’s flock increases they are able to sell eggs and grow their income.”

A pair of chickens can be purchased for just $28, and their impact will be long lasting.

Since 2010 Kiwis have purchased over 5,000 Gifts that Grow chickens, improving the lives of more than 2,500 families living in ChildFund communities in Zambia, Kenya, and Sri Lanka.

While many of the popular commercial gifts we give at Christmas are forgotten soon after, the gifts available through Gifts that Grow have a long-lasting impact.

“The lifespan of the gifts in Gifts that Grow is much greater for the recipients than their dollar value. Chickens can live for 7-10 years and lay up to 1000 eggs in their lifetime.”

ChildFund New Zealand is also excited to share its Christmas collaboration with Karla Goodwin of Bluebells Cakery.

“I love eggs and needless to say I use a lot of them in my recipes. For me, Christmas time is about gratitude and generosity and this is so often expressed by sharing food with friends,” says Karla.

“In honour of the delicious, nutritious egg, and to highlight just how integral it is to a Kiwi Christmas I’m sharing a special Christmas Pavlova recipe. A Pavlova is such a Kiwi tradition, and I would love to see meaningful giving such as Gifts that Grow become one as well.”

Over the past 10 years, 55,000 Gifts that Grow gifts have been purchased by New Zealanders.

“That’s a huge milestone. We want to thank Kiwis and let them know that they are making a real impact.” says Mr Brown.

To order, visit www.childfund.org.nz or call 0800 223 111. Purchasers receive a special gift card explaining the gift and how it will benefit the recipient, and also get a ‘gift back’ via a full tax credit.

ChildFund New Zealand Christmas Pavlova by Karla Goodwin of Bluebells Cakery

Recipe and video also available at www.childfund.org.nz/egg-cellent

Ingredients

6 egg whites, at room temperature

pinch of salt

350g caster sugar

2 tsp cornflour

1 tsp white vinegar

To decorate

500ml cream

2 tsp vanilla extract

½ cup icing sugar

punnet each of strawberries, raspberries, blueberries

fresh mint leaves

edible flowers

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius bake (160 fan bake). Line a baking tray with baking paper and draw a circle onto your baking paper roughly 10cm in diameter. This will act as a guide to create a wreath-shaped pavlova.

2. Place the egg whites and salt in a large grease free bowl and beat with a handheld or stand mixer until glossy and stiff peaks form.

3. Whisk in the sugar, one tablespoon at a time, whisking well after each addition.

4. Keep whisking until the egg whites hold their stiff peaks (hold the bowl over your head and the meringue should stay in the bowl!)

5. Sift the cornflour over the top and fold through with the vinegar.

6. Spoon your meringue into a piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle.

7. Pipe round rosette shapes onto your baking paper using the drawn circle as a guide. Make sure you overlap the rosettes so they stick together. When you have a complete circle of rosettes, pipe a second row directly on top to give the pavlova height.

8. Bake for 5 minutes before turning the oven temperature down to 120 degrees Celsius bake (100 fan bake). Bake for a further one hour until the outside is crisp to the touch. Turn the oven off and leave the pavlova in the oven with the door closed for at least 2 hours, or overnight.

9. On the day of serving the pavlova whip the cream, vanilla & icing sugar together in a bowl until soft peaks form.

10. To assemble, carefully remove the baking paper from the bottom of the pavlova and transfer to a serving plate.

11. Spoon large dollops of cream onto the top of the pavlova leaving a 1cm border of meringue. Arrange your sliced fruit over the top and decorate with mint leaves and edible flowers.

Share your most egg-cellent egg dish – and be in to WIN!

Create your own egg-cellent dish and be in to WIN a cookbook or baked Christmas gifts from Karla Goodwin of Bluebells Cakery.

1. Create your favourite dish that includes eggs as an ingredient

2. Take a photo or video

3. SHARE it at www.childfund.org.nz/sharetowin

4. You’re in the draw!

Competition ends 15th December 2017. See website for T&Cs.

ENDS

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