2 hours + coolinG | serves 8 | A little effort
egg whites: 4caster sugar: 100g
icing sugar: 100g
vanilla extract: ½ tsp
STRAWBERRY CREAM
whipping cream: 300ml
vanilla extract: 1 tsp
icing sugar: 1 tbsp
strawberries: 400g, 4-5 finely chopped and
the rest hulled
• Heat the oven to 120C/fan 110C/gas ¼ and line a baking sheet
with baking parchment (don’t use greaseproof, it needs to be non-stick).
Draw 2 rectangles 20cm long and 10cm wide on the paper, spacing
them apart.
• Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks and then beat in the caster sugar
in 4 batches, beating well between each. Sift in the icing sugar in 4
batches, folding it in each time. Add the vanilla. Spoon the mixture into
a large piping bag fitted with a wide, straight-edged nozzle. Pipe the
meringue in long stripes onto each rectangle, making sure the stripes
rest alongside each other so there are no gaps. Pipe any remaining
meringue onto a separate sheet in small rounds, no more than 1.5cm
across and flatten any peaks with a wet finger. Bake the buttons for
30-40 minutes and the rectangles for 1–1½ hours or until they sound
crisp when tapped (they may have a little colour, depending on your
oven). Leave to cool.
• For the strawberry cream, very softly whip the cream, vanilla extract
and icing sugar, then fold in the chopped strawberries.
• Lay one rectangle on a plate and spoon some strawberry cream
down the centre, add a layer of sliced strawberries and some blobs of
strawberry cream on top, then put on the top layer of meringue. Spoon
the rest of the strawberry cream into a piping bag and pipe blobs all
over the top, then add slices or quarters of strawberry and meringue
buttons. Serve with any remaining strawberries.