This showstopper dessert is easy to make and a joy to serve. Everybody loves to dive into the fruity, creamy, crunchy pudding. Carole serves it several times a year, particularly after summer barbecues and Christmas lunch.

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 250g caster sugar
• 1 tsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp cornflour
• 400g strawberries, hulled and halved if large
• 300g raspberries
• 1 tbsp icing sugar
• 150g blackberries or blueberries
• 300ml whipping cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Step by step:

1. Heat your oven to 150C / fan 130C / gas. Line your baking sheet with baking parchment and draw a large circle in pencil around a bowl or dinner plate approximately 25cm diameter. Turn the paper over.
2. Whip the egg whites to stiff peaks. Add the sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, whisking betweeen each addition until the mixture is smooth, thick and glossy. Whisk in the cornflour.
3. Place the large spoonfuls of meringue on the parchment inside the circle until it is evenly filled.
4. Make a dip in the centre with the back of a spoon and bring up the sides a little. Put the pavlova in the oven and bake for 1 hour. Turn the oven off, leave the door ajar and let the meringue cool completely.
5. Make the sauce by blending 75g strawberries and 75g of raspberries to a puree with the icing sugar, then sieve into a bowl. Gently whip the cream and vanilla.
6. Top the meringue with the cream, the rest of the fruit, and berry sauce.

Notes:

To make individual mini pavlovas, simply draw 10cm diameter circles on your baking paper and make as above.

The dessert is named after Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova. Born in St Petersburg on 12th February 1881, Pavlova was premature and often felt unwell. She died in the Netherlands on 23rd January 1931 aged just 49.

The origin of Pavlova is disputed between Australia and New Zealand. However, there is documented evidence of the recipe appearing in New Zealand as far back as 1929.