If you are entertaining or visiting and have offered to do dessert there is nothing easier than a Pavlova. The simple rule of thumb is the double the amount of sugar to eggs for example: 6 egg whites and 12 ounces of sugar. The dessert was created in honour of the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova either during or after one of her tours of New Zealand in the 1920s. Make this dessert even easier by using the bottled egg white and save yourself having to think of what to do with the leftover yolks! This dessert contains no flour and so is gluten free!

225 millilitres egg whites approximately 6 eggs

330 grams /12 ounces 1 ½ cups caster sugar

1 teaspoon cider vinegar

1 teaspoon cornflour

To serve

500 millilitres fresh cream lightly whipped

Fruit of your choice, I used raspberries,blueberries and strawberries

Icing sugar to dredge

Preheat the oven to 150C/ 300F

Place the egg whites in a spotlessly clean bowl and whisk on high speed until stiff. Test by tipping the bowl upside down, the egg whites shouldn’t fall out!

Gradually add the sugar one tablespoon at a time waiting about 30 seconds between each addition. Once all the sugar has been added, scrape down the bowl and add the vinegar and cornflour. Whisk for a further 5 minutes until the mixture is stiff and glossy. If you don’t whisk in the sugar fully your pavlova will ooze a sticky sugar syrup while it is cooking making it impossible to remove from the parchment paper.

Pile spoonfuls of the mixture onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper and using a spoon shape to form a 20 centimeter mound with a dip in the centre to hold the fruit and cream once cooked.

Reduce the oven temperature to 120C/ 250F and bake for 90 minutes or until dry and crisp to the touch. Turn the oven off and allow the pavlova to cool completely in the oven.

Decorate with cream and fruit and dust with icing sugar and serve at once!