Pavlova, a kind of giant meringue whose invention regularly puts Australians and New Zealanders at loggerheads, looks like it's child's play to make. Which is true. Nevertheless, it requires precision, patience and care. After all, a pavlova should have a crispy shell and a marshmallow-like, soft centre. That's why I prepare it the night before and leave it to cool overnight in the switched-off oven once it's baked.

You need these kitchen utensils

1 pallet knife 1 large, flat baking tray baking paper 1 food processor 1 silicone spatula

Preparation

• For 250 g of egg whites, carefully separate about 7 eggs. Important: Do not add a single egg yolk. Pour the egg whites into the clean, dry bowl of the mixer and add a small pinch of salt. Mix at medium speed until wide ribbons form on the surface of the foamy egg whites.

• With the mixer still running, add 500 g of sugar one spoonful at a time. As a rule of thumb, use twice as much sugar as egg white.

• Once all the sugar has been incorporated, switch the speed to the highest setting and stir for 5 minutes.

• Now carefully stir in 20 g cornflour with a spatula and finally add 7 ml white wine vinegar and stir.

• Pour the mixture onto a baking tray lined with baking paper and form a round cake about 6 - 8 cm high. Use a palette knife to round the edges and press the egg white cake onto the baking tray from above. Form a slightly raised edge all round so that the desired topping adheres well to the surface.

• Very fine and visually eye-catching if coarsely chopped pistachios are carefully sprinkled into the mixture and on top before baking.

• Place the pavlova in the oven immediately and reduce the temperature to 100° C. Bake for 1 hour. Important: Never open the oven!

• Switch off the oven and leave the pavlova to cool in it for at least 6 hours, or preferably overnight. This results in the perfect combination of a thick crust and a soft centre.

• The pavlova is topped with a thick cream, for example made from mascarpone and cream, flavoured with vanilla and lightly sweetened. Spread the cream evenly over the pavlova. Top with seasonal fruit, tropical fruit, rhubarb, strawberries, etc. If necessary, cut into portions before topping with fruit or compote so that the fruit remains whole and does not smash.

Ideas for topping

Quartered, ripe figs sprinkled with honey and chopped pistachios go well with a pavlova. But mangoes or very ripe bananas cut into pieces and plenty of fresh passion fruit pulp also go perfectly with it.