Meringue for a pavlova

1. Preheat oven to gas mark 2, 300oF (150oC)

2. Place the eggs into a large blow and have the sugar in a separate bowl

3. The meringue will be lighter if you blitz the measured sugar in a blitzer

4. Now whisk the eggs until you form soft peaks and you can turn the bowl upside down without them sliding out (It is very important to not over whisk the eggs as they will collapse if you do)

5. Put the egg into a mixer (Or you can do it by hand) and start to slowly and gently mix in about 1table spoon of the sugar at a time

6. Take out a new tablespoon and spoon the meringue mixture in a prepared baking sheet forming a new circle about 8 inches (20 cm) in diameter (If you just want to pour out the mixture onto a baking tray then you do not need to do the following two steps)

7. Then spoon spoon round blobs next to each other so that they can join to form a circle around the edge

8. Using the tip of a skewer make tiny little swirls all around the edge, lifting the skewer up sharply each time to leave tiny peaks.

9. Now place the baking sheet in the oven, then immediately turn the heat down to gas mark 1, 275oF (140oC) and leave to cook for one hour

10. After one hour turn the heat off but LEAVE the meringue in the oven until its completely cold to give a crispy outside but a gooey inside

11. I find that it's best to make the meringue in the evening and leave it in the turned off oven overnight to dry out because I think that the secret to successful meringues is to let them dry out completely - this method lets you do this!

12. When taken out of the oven the meringue should be a golden colour.

13. To serve the Pavlova place it on to a large serving dish and just before serving add stopping of your choice. I personally like to add raspberries, freshly whipped cream and grate a bit of raspberry and white chocolate onto it.