Union Jack Pavlova

A classic dessert with a decorative twist!  I first made this last year for the royal wedding and thought it would be perfect again for the Diamond Jubilee.  
It is easy to make, just a bit of fiddling about with the fruit at the end...and it looks fantastic!  I love to make Chantilly cream for pavlovas, it gives the dessert a more luxurious edge.   

Serves 12

Ingredients

6 Large Egg Whites

350g Caster Sugar

A Pinch of Salt

1 teaspoon White Wine Vinegar

2 teaspoons Cornflour

300ml Double Cream

3-4 tablespoons Icing Sugar

1 Vanilla Pod

Strawberries and Blueberries to decorate

• Preheat the oven to 150C (fan) and fully line a swiss roll tin (or any rectangular baking tray) with baking or greaseproof paper, overlapping the sides.
• To make the meringue, tip the egg whites into a large clean bowl or the bowl of a mixer  then whisk until it starts to go frothy.  Add the salt, vinegar and cornflour and continue to whisk.
• When it is white and voluminous gradually start to add the sugar, whisking constantly.  Keep adding the sugar a spoonful at a time until it is all incorporated and the meringue is thick, glossy and holding its shape.
• Spoon the meringue onto the lined tin and spread it out evenly to fill the rectangle.
• Put the tin into the oven and immediately turn it down to 125C.  Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes then, leaving the meringue in, turn the oven off and let it go cold.
• When the meringue is completely cold take it out of the oven and carefully transfer it, still in the paper, out of the tin and onto the plate or board you want to serve the pavlova on.  It may be cracked and slightly crumbly on the top, don’t worry if it cracks more as you move it, it can be fixed when you put the cream on top.  Now trim the baking paper from around the meringue, leaving the underneath layer, this is a lot easier than trying to get it off the paper.
• To make the filling, pour the double cream into a bowl and add the icing sugar.  With a sharp knife, cut down one side of the length of the vanilla pod and open it out.  Then run the edge of the knife down the inside of the pod to collect all the tiny seeds, put these into the cream.  Whisk the cream until thick but not stiff.
• Spoon the vanilla cream onto the meringue base and carefully spread it out, fixing any bits of meringue that have fallen off, you need the cream to cover almost all of the top, leaving about a centimetre around the edge.
• To decorate, cut the strawberries in half lengthways and use them to make a big cross in the centre (you can make it neater by trimming the sides of the strawberries to give them a straight edge).  Then cut a few strawberries into thin strips to make the narrower lines and use blueberries to fill the sections.
• Try to serve it within about an hour of putting the cream and the fruit on…once everyone has admired it of course!