How to cook pavlova

You will need

4 egg whites, at room temperature
1/2 lemon
pinch of salt
220g castor sugar
1 tsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp cornflour
baking paper (we used Gladbake, which has ready-drawn circles on the paper)

To serve

lemon curd (optional)
250ml fresh cream, softly whipped
4 granadillas

Step one: separate the eggs and prep the mixing bowl

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Place a section of baking paper on a baking sheet with the marked side facing down. Rub the inside of your mixing bowl with half a lemon to remove any residual grease. Separate the eggs.

Step two: whisk the egg whites

Add the egg whites to the mixing bowl along with the salt and whisk until firm peaks form. They should have a satiny sheen but still look frothy in texture.

Step three: add sugar and whisk again

While whisking, very gradually add half the sugar. The meringue should now look thick and glossy.

Step four: fold through the vinegar and cornflour

Mix the white wine vinegar and vanilla essence into the cornflour and fold through the meringue, along with the remaining sugar, until incorporated.

Step five: make a pavlova shape

Spoon a third of the meringue onto the baking paper and spread into an even circle. This will form the base of the pavlova. Then place spoonfuls around the edge of the base to form the sides of the pavlova.

Step six: baking and assembly

Place in the lower third of the oven, turn down the temperature to 150°C and bake for 30 minutes. Then lower the temperature to 120°C and bake for 45 minutes. Turn off oven and leave the pavlova in the oven to cool completely.

To serve, spoon lemon curd or whipped cream or both into the centre of the pavlova and then top with granadilla pulp. Serve immediately.