Meringue wreath with mango, passion fruit and pistachios

Prep time: 35 minutes Cook time: 1 hour 40 minutes, plus overnight drying

Serves 8

You don’t have to stick to the same decoration: you can use mango and raspberries, or make this entirely with berries.

INGREDIENTS

– 7 large egg whites – 380g caster sugar

– 3 tsp cornflour, sifted – 1 tsp white wine

vinegar To decorate – 2 mangoes, not

overripe

– 500g crème fraîche – about 6 tsp lemon curd – 8 ripe passion fruit – 35g pistachios, roughly chopped, or almond nibs, lightly toasted

– edible gold leaf

(optional)

METHOD

Heat the oven to 140C / 130C fan/gas mark 1. Draw a circle 28cm in diameter on a sheet of baking parchment.

Centred within this, draw another circle 16cm across. Put on a metal baking sheet.

Put the egg whites in the scrupulously clean bowl of a stand mixer and beat, on a medium speed, until they form soft peaks (room temperature whites foam more quickly than those from the fridge).

Start adding the sugar in large spoonfuls, keeping the speed on medium. Increase the speed to high and beat until the egg whites are firm and satiny. Fold in the cornflour and vinegar. Use some of the meringue to stick down the paper on the baking sheet, putting a scant ½ tsp in each corner.

Use a large serving spoon, or a teacup, to dollop consecutive mounds of meringue inside the stencil you’ve drawn, to make a wreath. Use the end of a teaspoon to create little whorls in the mounds.

Put in the oven and cook for 10 minutes, then turn the heat down to 110C/100C fan/gas mark ¼. Bake for 90 minutes then turn the heat off and leave the wreath in the oven overnight – this dries the meringue out.

Decorate the wreath no more than an hour before you want to serve it. Carefully remove it from the paper on to a large serving plate.

Peel the mangoes and cut the flesh neatly into slices. Put the crème fraîche into a bowl and beat it a little with a spoon to loosen it (but not too much). Spread it over the top of the meringue. Swirl small spoonfuls of the curd into it at intervals.

Arrange the mango on top. Halve the passion fruit and put little spoonfuls of juice and seeds on top of the cream and mango. It will run down the sides a little, of course, but should look luscious rather than messy. Scatter on the nuts and add little bits of gold leaf, if using.