4 egg whites

225g caster sugar

500ml cream

675g raspberries fresh or frozen

A few blackberries

icing sugar

Kirsch or framboise (optional)

Decoration

Fresh raspberries for decoration

100ml whipper cream for cream stars

icing sugar for dusting fruit

Method

Put oven on 110.C. Place shelf a little lower than the middle of the oven.

1. Line baking tray with grease proof paper.

2. To make the meringue, beat egg whites in spotlessly clean large bowl until stiff and standing in peaks.

3. Whisk in half the sugar, whisk again for 2 mins.

4. Using a large metal spoon fold in the remaining sugar, quickly and lightly, so as not to lose volume.

5. Spoon out into a rough round about 23 cm in diameter and 1.1/2 cm high. I chose to pipe mine with a star nozzle piping bag, as I wanted to make the extra stars, see picture.

6. Cook in low oven for about 3 hrs, or until dry. ( Perfect for “Aga” cooking Oven )

7. In the mean time, reserve a few raspberries for decoration and pass the rest through a fine sieve, using a metal or wooden spoon.

This takes a little time, but the result is delicious, ‘Raspberry Coulis” Finally whisk in 2 tsp of icing sugar. Place in serving jug and keep in fridge.

8. Beat cream until the beaters leave a  trail ( nearly solid ) and reserve also in the fridge.

9. Once the meringue is ready, leave to cool in oven, when cold remove, detach “Stars” and reserve in serving bowl.

10. Break up the rest of the meringue into mouth sized pieces and mix together with cream. ( If it has gone a little runny while waiting, beat again. )

11. Using a 300ml bowl or pudding basin, line the sides and base with a thin layer of cream and fill with meringue and cream mixture to the top. Level off.

12. Cover and place in deepfreeze for at least 4 hours.

13. When ready to use, remove from deepfreeze and after 20 mins, slide a sharp knife down the inside of the bowl, all the way round, until it detaches from the bowl. Turn out onto serving dish.

14. I then return it to the deepfreeze until about half an hour before serving.

15. Decorate, by pouring over some of the raspberry coulis and decorating with the reserved raspberries. If you have a little cream left over, you can decorate it also with stars of cream, using a piping bag.

16. Reserve in fridge until it is time to serve. Dust fruit using a sieve, with a little icing sugar just before serving.

N.B. This can be made ahead of time.

Prepare baking tray with grease-proof paper.

Whisk egg whites until stiff peaks. Add half the sugar and whisk for 2 minutes.

Fold in sugar, lightly and quickly.

Spoon into piping bag and pipe out as in following picture. Or just spoon out a 2 cm high round on grease-

proof paper.

A good opportunity to have some fun with a star nozzle piping bag!

Otherwise just spread out the meringue with a spoon into a round 1.5cm high.

Place in oven 110.C. for 3 hours.

Pipping out the base. This can also be done with a spoon.

Pass raspberries through fine sieve.

Until only the seeds remain. it takes a little time, but is well worth it. Add icing sugar.

Raspberry Coulis.

In the mean time beat the cream until the whisk leaves a trail. ( Almost stiff )

Once the meringue is ready and completely cooled in the oven, detach stars and place in serving bowl.

Break up rest of meringue into mouth sized pieces.

Meringue broken up into mouth sized pieces.

Mix with whipped cream.

Place meringue and cream in pudding basin, or other bowl with similar shape and level off the top carefully.

When you turn it out, you want it to sit straight!

Leave in deep freeze covered with tin foil for at least 4 hours, or until ready to use.

Take out of freezer. After 20 minutes slide knife down the sides of the pudding basin all the way round,

until meringue becomes loose. Turn out onto serving dish, decorate with raspberry coulis by pouring a little

over the top. Then decorate with meringue stars, raspberries/ blackberries and using your piping bag,

decorate with cream. Dust fruit with icing sugar, just before serving.

Final result! Red White And Blue!