Lemon and raspberry pavlova

1. Start by pre-heating the oven to 150°C/300°F/gas 2 and don an apron - this can get a bit messy!

2. Then cut two sheets of greaseproof paper or baking parchment to fit two large, flat baking trays. Draw around a medium sized dinner plate, or whatever dish / platter you intend to serve on, using a dark pencil / permanent marker and put to one side.

3. Begin by carefully rubbing down the sides of the mixing bowl you intend to use with kitchen paper to ensure there are no traces of grease left behind. Grease is the enemy of happy meringues!

4. Pour all 3 egg whites into the bowl and whisk on maximum setting (I use an electric hand-whisk, but I presume a food mixer with whisk attachment would work as well) until it forms stiff peaks that remain when you remove the whisk.

5. Attempt the bowl-over-the-head trick if you dare...

6. With the whisk running, slowly add the sugar, a little a time, then the salt. Ignore any stray splatters of meringue mix that will escape on to you or your surroundings - this is part of the charm and is to be seen as evidence that you are a 'creative cook'.

7. Keep whisking away for about 8 minutes, then squidge some of the mixture between your thumb and forefinger. If, as you rub it together, you can feel gritty sugar - whisk for another minute. If not, and it remains smooth, then - hey presto - you have meringue lift-off!

8. Use a small splodge of meringue mixture in each corner of the greaseproof paper, drawn-on side down, to secure it to the baking trays.

9. Carefully, using a metal dessert spoon, dollop meringue into the centre of one of the circles you can see through the paper. Gently ease the mixture out towards the edges of the circle - but keep it a good inch from the edge. The meringue will expand and grow in the oven and get much larger than the original shape you make.

10. Repeat this with the other circle, but this time make it much smaller and whip up the edges using a fork to give a peaked edge to the circle.

11. Bake both in the pre-heated oven for about 1 hour 15 mins, then remove and allow to cool on the baking trays. At this time the meringue will settle and crack - don't panic, this is a good sign that it is all marshmallowey inside.

12. Give the meringues a good 2 hours to totally cool down ( once cool they can be kept in airtight containers for up to a month if you can resist them that long).

13. For the fillling, whisk the double cream with 1 of the tablespoons of lemon curd. This will whisk up more quickly than cream may usually, so keep your eye on it.

14. Spread the remaining tablespoon of lemon curd onto the larger meringue and then spoon 2 thirds of the cream onto it.

15. Place the smaller meringue onto this and spoon the remaining cream into the 'crown' that has been formed by peaking the edges before baking.

16. Arrange raspberries around the edge and on top of the upper meringue and dust with icing sugar.

17. Wonderful served with a glass of Pimms!