Lemon Pavlova

 Really delicious summer pud for a crowd

• 6 large egg whites
• 350g/12oz caster sugar (no lumps)
• 2 tsp white wine vinegar
• 2 tsp cornflour 
• lemon curd - jar of or if homemade:
• (6 large egg yolks
• 350g /12 oz caster sugar
• 4 lemons (juice only)
• 225g/8oz butter)
• 600ml double cream 
• Jar of lemon curd - 
• (or make: 6 large egg yolks
• 350g /12 oz caster sugar
• 4 lemons (juice only)
• 225g/8oz butter)
• 
  
• Preheat the oven to 160C
• 
  
• Separate eggs. Pop yolks in small bowl and set aside. Whisk egg whites in another larger bowl with electric hand whisk until stiff. (Turn bowl upside down and if they don't fall out they are done). Very slowly, whisking all the time add sugar literally a teaspoon at a time, whisking well in between.
• Once egg whites stiff, mix white wine vinegar and cornflour until smooth then stir through the meringue mix gently.

Take a large baking tray and line with greaseproof paper. Draw or mark out a circle approx 25cm diameter. Spoon 1/3 of the meringue mix in blobs to cover the base and loosely smooth into a circle with no gaps but try to keep the air in and don't flatten. Blob the rest of the mixture around the edge of the meringue circle to form a swirly raised border. 

Pop into the middle of the oven, turn the heat down to 150C/300F and bake for 1½-2 hours (check after one hour), or until it pulls away from the paper easily if you try to gently lift it. Turn off the oven but leave the pavlova in with the door closed, until cold.

If making lemon curd for the filling soften the butter then whisk egg yolks, sugar and lemon juice together in a bowl using hand held whisk. Heat in the microwave on 600 for 1 min, stir and repeat stirring each time until thickenend. Allow to cool - it will thicken more as cools.

Whisk the double cream in a large bowl until just thickened and holding its own shape.

Mix a few spoonfulls of cream through the lemon curd and dollop across the base of the pavlova.

Top with the rest of the cream followed by a mixture of fruit (raspberries, blackberries, strawberries etc) grate zest of a lemon over the top.

Serve!