Meringues with Vanilla & Passionfruit by Nielsen-Massey

Preheat the oven to 140°C (fan 130°C, gas mark 1). Line two baking trays with baking parchment.

In a large, clean bowl, whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar to soft peaks, then slowly whisk in the caster sugar, a quarter at a time, until the mixture is thick and glossy.

Spoon a third of the egg mixture into a separate bowl and beat in the vanilla extract.  Using a metal spoon, carefully fold this back into the rest of the egg mixture, then gently fold in the sifted icing sugar too.

Spoon two tablespoons of the meringue mixture onto the prepared baking trays and place them in the oven before lowering the oven temperature to 120°C (fan 110°C gas mark 1/2).

Bake for 45 minutes, then turn the oven off but leave the meringue in the oven to cool completely before removing, (overnight is ideal).

To make the vanilla cream, whisk the double cream with the vanilla bean paste and icing sugar until soft peaks form.  Serve the meringues with the passionfruit pulp, strawberries and vanilla cream.