This is the Karynska pudding, a crisp meringue shell encasing cream fruit and buckwheat - a special Ukrainian ingredient.

It's not as famous as the Russian Pavlova, but here in Lviv, it's fast becoming a favourite.

It's all part of what Ukrainians see as a broader process of decolonisation and a dismantling of Russian narratives.

Now it's reached the gastronomic sphere.

Cafés and restaurants that previously offered the “Pavlova,” named after a Russian ballerina, are replacing it with the “Karynska,” named after Ukrainian-born ballerina and costume designer Varvara Karynska.

Restaurateurs say visitors are often outraged that a menu item rooted in deliberate Russian cultural propaganda remains in place.

Varvara Karynska was from Kharkiv in Ukraine.

She escaped the Soviet Union, first settling in France and later in the United States.

Only now is her name becoming more widely recognised by the general public in Ukraine.

Andriy Dzyuban, the owner of Lviv's Tante Sofie restaurant, welcomes the change.

“People wondered why it was a Russian ballerina, why this dessert, and so on. And I was honestly very happy when I saw the news that Vsevolod and his team were developing an alternative dessert,” he says.

Ballerina Victoria Zvarych is also deeply interested in the history of Ukrainian ballet.

She says Varvara Karynska's most enduring invention is the modern tutu which gave ballerinas greater technical freedom, allowing for wider, more expressive movements.

Zvarych explains: “Before Varvara Karynska, ballet tutus were very bulky, with metal structures and layers of tulle. Some examples still exist today. She managed to remove the metal spokes and frames, freeing the legs, making them visible, and, importantly, she redesigned the corset.”

It's no surprise then that the Karynska pudding resembles a tutu.

Karynska was the first Ukrainian woman to win an Oscar for costume design. Her creations were worn by Marlene Dietrich, Elizabeth Taylor, and Ingrid Bergman.

Vsevolod Polishchuk was part of the team which spent over a month experimenting with shapes and ingredients to create the new dessert.

He says: “From a historical perspective, we now know that since the 19th century, Russian ballet has been deliberately promoted around the world as a propaganda tool, particularly through financial injections.”

“Of course, it is very difficult for us to talk about asking people in New Zealand or the U.S. to stop eating Pavlova. But here in Ukraine, avoiding triggers for the mothers of fallen soldiers — I believe this is a very important task,” says Polishchuk.

The chef at the centre of the new pudding is confectioner and dessert recipe author Myroslava Novosad.

She says: “The goal of our project is to create a dessert shaped like a ballet tutu. Look — doesn’t it resemble a tutu?”

As she demonstrate how the pudding is constructed she explains why the pudding is uniquely Ukrainian.

“Buckwheat is a staple of Ukrainian cuisine and isn’t common in many other countries. It has a very distinct flavour when baked, it tastes a bit like nuts,” says Novosad.

The dessert’s technical specifications — its full recipe — are publicly available online to help promote both the dessert itself and the name of its legendary Ukrainian namesake.

Novosad explains why people feel so passionately about the subject.

She says: “Since the start of the full-scale invasion, we have refused to make the “Pavlova” dessert, it simply doesn’t taste good (feels wrong) when missiles are flying at us from Russia and making normal life impossible.”

But now there's a new sweet treat for Ukrainians to enjoy and feel like they are being suitably patriotic at the same time.