Passion fruit, persimmon and physalis pavlova

If you’re looking for a spectacular but simple dessert, you can’t go wrong with a pavlova. I use a mixture of cream and mascarpone, spiked with vanilla seeds, to complement the sharp and sweet fruit. My nonna loved persimmons, which Italians call cachi fruit. The Italian fruits are larger and almost jam-like when very ripe but the supermarket variety will hold its shape better.

SERVES 8-10

FOR THE MERINGUE

★ 200g egg whites (about 7)

★ 200g caster sugar

★ 1tsp cream of tartar

FOR THE CREAM

★ 400g mascarpone

★ 600ml double cream

★ Seeds from 1 vanilla pod TO SERVE

★ 4 persimmons, sliced

★ 10-12 physalis, outer layer peeled back but kept intact

★ 6 passion fruit, seeds and juice scooped out

1 To make the meringues, preheat the oven to 110°C/90°C fan/gas mark ¼. Place the egg whites in the clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whisk on a low to medium speed for 10min until you get soft peaks. Add the sugar 1tbsp at a time, gradually increasing the speed as you go. Then add the cream of tartar. You should have reached the highest speed by the time you’ve added the last of the sugar. Whisk for another 2-3min until you have a thick and glossy meringue.

2 Line two baking trays with baking parchment. Divide the meringue mix equally between the trays, spreading each into a rough circle. Bake for 4 hours. They’re done when the bottom of the meringue comes away easily from the paper. Leave to cool completely.

3 To assemble, gently whisk together the cream and mascarpone with the vanilla seeds until it just holds its shape. Spoon half the cream mixture onto one of the meringues and top with half the passion fruit and half the persimmon slices. Top with the second meringue, the remaining cream and fruit. Serve immediately.