COFFEE BANANA PAVLOVA

Serves 8 Whites of 4 medium eggs Pinch of salt 250g caster sugar 4 tsps cornflour 2 tbsps instant espresso coffee powder 2 tsps raspberry vinegar 250ml double or whipping cream 1 tsp vanilla essence (or a tbsp of rum if you like!) 3 large bananas 24 pecan nuts or walnuts

Set the oven to 140C, gas mark 1, and butter a 25cm flan dish (tin or ceramic). Whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they stand in soft peaks. Continue whisking, adding a tbsp of sugar at a time until you have stiff peaks. Mix the cornflour with the coffee powder and whisk into the meringue mixture, then whisk in the raspberry vinegar. The mixture should now be very stiff. Spoon the meringue into the prepared dish, making the sides higher than the middle, then cook in the oven for an hour. Turn off the oven, open the door and leave to cool. Whip the cream until it stands in soft peaks then stir in the vanilla or rum. Pile it into the middle of the cooled pavlova. Slice the bananas and arrange over the cream with the nuts.