FIONA CAIRNS’S

crown meringue

WHAT could be more apt for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee than a delicious red, white and blue crown pudding, made up of store-cupboard essentials, and topped off with the finest berries Britain’s countryside has to offer?

I like to think the Queen might enjoy a meringue — so deliciously light — when royal duty means she has an awful lot of functions to attend.

With enough for 12 people, this would be perfect for bringing the neighbours together. And uniting the nation is what our Queen does best.

I know from my experience making Prince William and Kate’s wedding cake that a royal event is the ultimate feel-good celebration. And this showstopper of a dessert could be the perfect centrepiece to your jubilee festivities.

I’d include silver dragees, to look like platinum, but you could apply edible silver leaf over the berries to give your jubilee crown meringue regal pizzazz.