Eaton mess tower

Serves 4 Desserts and puddings

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Method

If using, hull and quarter the strawberries, and add to a bowl with the other fruit. Toss with the lemon juice and caster sugar, then set aside.

Whip the cream, icing sugar and vanilla together in a large bowl with a handheld blender or electric whisk until soft peaks form. Keep in the fridge (for up to a few hours) until you're ready to serve.

Break the meringues in half and pile them up into a pyramid on a large serving plate, dolloping the whipped cream, sorbet and fruit between them - treat them as if they are the cement holding it all together. Add a few flowers to decorate and serve.

For the meringues:

Preheat the oven to 190C/170C F/Gas 5. Line a large baking sheet with baking paper. Add the sugar to the baking sheet and heat in the oven for 5 to 8 minutes until the sugar is just starting to melt at the edges. Reduce the oven temperature to 100C/80C F/Gas 1/4 and leave the door open to help the oven cool down quickly.

Whisk the egg white in a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment until frothy, then start to incorporate the hot sugar, 1tbsp at a time, whisking continuously on high speed. Once all the sugar is incorporated, keep whisking as the mixture cools down, scraping down the edges of the bowl with a rubber spatula in case any of the sugar has escaped. You can pinch a bit of the mixture and rub it between your fingers to check if the sugar has dissolved. Keep whisking if it hasn't.

Line a baking tray with baking paper and dollop mounds of meringue mixture on top, leaving several cm of space in between for the air to circulate. Check that the temperature of the oven is low, then add the tray and bake for 2 hours or until dry and they easily come away from the bottom of the tray.

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