Great fun doing my regular recipe slot in the studio with Adam Ball on BBC Radio Oxford – only the second time in two and a half years that I’d come in person instead of being on the phone. (Watch out for the hilarious blooper in the first few minutes!)
This week: a strawberry pavlova with a twist. The strawberries are macerated – left with a little sugar for a couple of hours – which makes them glossy and red and really brings out their sweetness. For the base, spread about a third of the meringue into a circle roughly the size of a side plate, then spoon the rest around the edge to build up the sides. Bake for 50 minutes, then turn the oven off and leave it to cool inside.
The twist? Passion fruit curd in the middle. A traditional pavlova has fresh passion fruit scraped over the top, but fresh passion fruit is expensive, so the curd gives you that same zing for much less. Even Adam, who doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth, was converted!