Dreamy Pav (jamie Oliver)

Method

This is the pavlova my dreams are made of. Thin crispy meringue exterior with a soft chewy centre, seasonal berries – in this case bubble-gummy wild strawberries – Chantilly cream, and from my dreamland, the surprising guest appearance of cloud-spongy homemade marshmallow. I want you to share this dream – it's a good one.

Preheat the oven to 130°C/250°F/gas ½. Whisk the egg whites and a pinch of sea salt in a free-standing electric mixer until they form stiff peaks then, with the mixer still running, very gradually and carefully add the sugar, turn to the highest setting and leave to mix for 8 minutes, or until fully dissolved (rub a pinch of the mixture between your thumb and forefinger – if it feels smooth, you're good to go). Line two large baking trays with greaseproof paper, then draw a 24cm circle on each sheet of paper. Divide the mixture between the two sheets and spread it out to just inside your circles, then use the back of the spoon to flick up peaks and make troughs in the mixture to give you free-form, rustic meringues that are also elegant and delicate. Bake for 1 hour 20 minutes, then turn the oven off, leaving the meringues in there until the oven is cool.

When you're ready to assemble the pavlova, make your Magnificent marshmallows. As soon as the mixture's made, divide in big beautiful spoonfuls between the two meringues before it sets, being mindful to spoon in between the lovely peaks and wisps of meringue, so it's as pretty as possible. At this point, identify the dreamiest meringue and put the scruffier one onto a cake stand to form the base of your pavlova.

Put the most perfect-looking half of your berries to one side, then place the other half in a bowl (removing any stalks). Add the lemon juice, sugar and balsamic, toss together and leave to macerate for 10 minutes while you make the Chantilly cream. Halve the vanilla pod lengthways and scrape all the seeds into a large bowl with the sugar. Pour in the cream and whisk by hand until it forms soft peaks (all elegance will be lost if you overwhip the cream – if anything, underwhip it), then fold in the yoghurt.

Spoon three-quarters of the cream into the centre of the base meringue and carefully smooth it out to the edge, trying not to completely cover the marshmallow. Spoon over the macerated berries and juices, then place the second meringue on top. Dot over the remaining cream in between the marshmallow and meringue wisps, then sprinkle with the reserved berries. Pick a few baby mint leaves over the top, and serve.

Ingredients

• 50 g cornflour
• 50 g icing sugar
• 50 g liquid glucose syrup, (get it from the supermarket or a chemist)
• 450 g caster sugar
• 10 sheets of gelatine (1 teaspoon of gelatine equal 2 leaves of gelatine)
• 2 large free-range egg whites (when halving this I still used 2 eggwhites )
• 2 vanilla pods
• 1½ teaspoons natural food colouring, optional

Choose Your Flavour:

• rose water
• orange blossom water
• natural lemon extract
• natural orange extract
• natural peppermint extract

NOTE

I added 1/4 cup of raspberries zest of 1/2 lemon and 1/2 an orange to flavour to flavour half quantity of this recipe and some rose colouring

Method

Making and serving marshmallows is just one of those magnificently therapeutic, fun things to do. It's kind of weird, but feels like magic – and as much as I love a homemade marshmallow (which does taste better than a bought one), it's the outrageous pleasure that they give my kids when they taste that freshly made gooey delicious treat that's important for me. And they make really good presents and gifts. You can cut and shape them however you please, and flavour them in really fun ways, toast them over fires, melt them over cheesecake, have them sandwiched between chocolate-drizzled cookies or even melted over ice cream. Heaven!

This is a precise recipe, so make sure you read through the method carefully before you start, get all your ingredients weighed out and get your equipment ready to go. You'll be working with hot sugar and syrups, so it's best to keep your kids out of the kitchen until those marshmallows are cooling, ready to eat.

Sift the cornflour and icing sugar into a bowl. Finely sift half the mixture over a deep baking tray (20cm x 30cm) and set the other half aside in the sieve until later. Mix the liquid glucose syrup and caster sugar together in a pan over a low heat with 250ml of cold water. Heat gently, stirring until all the sugar has dissolved and you have a clear syrup. Meanwhile, soak the gelatine leaves in a small pan with 125ml of water.

Once the sugar syrup is clear, turn up the heat, pop in a sugar thermometer and allow the syrup to boil vigorously (please don't stir it). When it reaches 110°C,[SOFT BALL STAGE] place the gelatine pan over a medium heat and stir until dissolved. Whisk the egg whites in a free-standing electric mixer until you have stiff peaks. Once your syrup has reached 122°C, very carefully and slowly pour it down the sides of the bowl of the moving mixer, then pour in the dissolved gelatine. Halve the vanilla pods lengthways and scrape out the seeds, add the seeds to the mixer bowl, then continue to whisk for 6 to 8 minutes, or until the mixture has significantly increased in volume, but is thick and still pourable. You can have a plain white vanilla marshmallow, or you can add any of the flavours listed, to taste (remembering to start small as you can always add more, but you can't take it away!). Add any natural food colouring at the same time (if using) – I like to try to match the colour of the marshmallow to the flavour I'm using – whisking for a further 2 to 3 minutes to give you a nice even colour and flavour. Either way, pour the marshmallow mixture into your prepared tray, use a palette knife to smooth it out, then sift over the remaining mixed cornflour and icing sugar and leave somewhere cool for 2 to 3 hours, or until set and soft.