Rose & rhubarb fool pavlova

My love for pavlova knows no bounds. It’s the pudding my mind wanders to every time I plan dinner for friends. It must be something about the playfulness, the way you can be endlessly creative and, of course, the marshmallowy soft centre under its thin, brittle walls of meringue. Here I have brought together a bevy of pinks: puckery rhubarb, musky rose, piney pink peppercorns and glassy beads of pomegranate. The result is kaleidoscopic layers of sweet, tart and fragrant.

SERVES 8

FOR THE MERINGUE

⚫ 6 large egg whites, at room temperature

⚫ 375g caster sugar

⚫ 2½tsp cornflour

⚫ 2tsp white wine vinegar

⚫ ½tsp rose water

⚫ ¾tsp pink peppercorns, ground

FOR THE RHUBARB FOOL

⚫ 350g rhubarb, roughly chopped

⚫ 3tbsp caster sugar

⚫ ½-1tsp rose water

⚫ 225ml double cream

⚫ 75ml Greek style yogurt

⚫ Pomegranate seeds, to serve

1 Draw a roughly 23cm circle on a piece of baking parchment

(I draw around a cake tin) and put it pencil-side down on a baking sheet. Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan) mark 4.

2 In a stand mixer or with a handheld electric whisk on medium speed, beat the egg whites until they become white and foamy. Add the sugar patiently, a spoonful at a time, whisking all the while. Turn up the speed and whisk for 5-10min until the mass is glossy and thick. If you rub a little between your fingertips, it should feel smooth. At low speed, briefly whisk in the cornflour, vinegar, rose water and pink peppercorns.

3 Tip the meringue on to the baking sheet, mounding it high and swirling it into the shape of a cake using the circle as a guide. Smooth the edges using a small palette knife, then drag the sides from bottom to top to create deep grooves all around the edge. Put into the oven and immediately lower the temperature to 150°C (130°C fan) mark 2. Bake for 1hr 15min. Leaving the meringue in the oven, turn off the heat and let it cool slowly without opening the door. The longer you leave it, even overnight if you have time and patience, the less it will crack

– though a few cracks are normal and will soon be buried in cream anyway.

4 For the rhubarb fool, shake together the rhubarb, sugar and rose water in a pan. Set over medium heat and cook, uncovered, for 15min or so – the juice will seep out, then start to reduce as the stems tenderise and collapse into a compote. Leave to cool. Whip the cream to soft peaks, then gently fold through the yogurt. Ripple in the stewed rhubarb and chill in the fridge until ready to serve. At the last moment, spoon the rhubarb fool into the centre of the meringue and top with a hot-pink scattering of pomegranate seeds.

Spice switch

Add a heaped tsp ground cinnamon to the meringue and top with whipped cream and dark autumn berries.