Rochelle Humes’ Salted Caramel Pavlova

Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F/gas mark 2 and line a large baking sheet with greaseproof paper.

Crack the eggs and separate the whites from the yolks. Using a stand mixer or electric whisk, whisk the egg whites at high speed until they form stiff peaks. With the whisk still running, start adding the sugar a spoonful at a time, leaving a few seconds between each addition to allow the sugar to incorporate. Once all of the sugar has been added, keep whisking on full speed for another 8 minutes until the meringue is stiff and glossy, and no grains of sugar can be felt when you rub the meringue between your fingers.

Tip the meringue onto your prepared baking sheet and form into a 23 cm/9 inch circle. For an extra flourish, swirl the meringue with the back of a spatula for a decorative effect, if you like. Transfer to the oven and bake for 1½ hours until lightly golden, then turn off the oven and leave the pavlova inside to cool and firm up for at least 2 hours. I like to cook the pavlova the night before I want to serve it and leave it in the oven to cool down slowly overnight.

About an hour before you want to serve your meringue, make the salted caramel sauce. Put the sugar in a heavy-based pan over a medium heat and leave to melt, swirling the pan from time to time, but not touching with a spoon. Once the sugar has all melted and is nice and golden, add the butter and whisk to combine. (Be careful here as the hot sugar will bubble up when you add the butter.) Once the butter has melted, add the cream and whisk again to combine. Leave to cook for another 2–3 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat and set aside to cool for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, add a generous pinch of sea salt to the caramel and stir to combine. Set aside until you are ready to serve the pavlova.

Whisk the double cream with an electric whisk or in a stand mixer until it forms soft peaks, then fold in the yoghurt and vanilla paste. Put the pavlova on a serving plate, then spoon the cream and yoghurt mixture over the top. Chop the fruit and spoon that over also, then drizzle over the caramel sauce. Drag the blade of a sharp knife over the chocolate to create shavings, then sprinkle over the pavlova. Slice and serve.

For first-stage weaning:

This is too sweet for little tummies, so simply serve very young children some of the fruit mashed up with a little Greek yoghurt.

For older children:

As an occasional treat, older children can enjoy a slice of the pavlova without the caramel sauce. If they really want to try the caramel, make it without using salt and serve sparingly.