RECIPES

This meringue should have a crisp shell and a gooey centre. To achieve this, cook in a very low oven until it has pinkish hue (but don’t let it go brown). Decorate with whatever fruit you like, although a tropical selection works particularly well with
the sweetness of the meringue.

Serves 6

Ingredients

3 egg whites (retain yolks for the lemon curd cream)
175g (6oz) caster sugar
½ vanilla pod, split and seeds scraped out (retain remaining pod for the lemon curd cream)
2 tbsp desiccated coconut
2 kiwi fruit, peeled and sliced
1 star fruit, thinly sliced
1 small ripe mango, peeled, stone discarded and sliced
3 passion fruit, halved and pulp scooped out
 

For the lemon curd cream
2 eggs plus 2 egg yolks (use yolks retained from above)
100g (4oz) caster sugar
½ vanilla pod, split and seeds scraped out
finely grated rind and juice of 3 lemons
120g (4½oz) butter, diced
200ml (7fl oz) double cream

Method

Preheat the oven to 110ºC (225ºC), gas mark o. Put the egg whites in a bowl and whisk until they are stiff. This is best done with an electric whisk. Gradually add in the caster sugar and vanilla seeds. Continue to whisk until the egg whites become thick and glossy and form stiff peaks (and if you turn the bowl upside down, the mixture doesn’t fall out). Fold in half the desiccated coconut. Using a piping bag or palette knife, spread the mixture onto a baking sheet lined with non-stick parchment paper and sprinkle over the remaining coconut. Cook on the lowest shelf of the oven for 1–1½ hours until the meringue is crisp but not browned.

Meanwhile, make the lemon curd cream. Place the eggs and yolks in a heatproof bowl with the sugar and vanilla seeds. Set over a pan of simmering water and whisk until the mixture is pale in colour and holds a figure-of-eight outline made with the whisk. Whisk in the lemon rind and juice and cook for 15–20 minutes until the mixture just starts to set. It is important not to let the water boil under the bowl as this will curdle the eggs in the mixture. Remove the bowl from the heat and leave the curd to cool for 15–20 minutes. Whisk in the diced butter until combined and then leave to cool completely. Place the cream in another bowl and whisk until soft peaks form. Fold into the lemon curd, then cover with clingfilm and chill until needed.

To Serve
To serve, spread most of the lemon curd cream on the meringue (reserving a couple of tablespoons) and arrange the kiwi slices, star fruit and mango slices on top. Spoon over the passion fruit pulp. To serve, cut into slices and arrange on plates, using small blobs of the reserved lemon curd cream to secure the meringue slices to the plates.

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