Serves 8
Prep time 15 minutes
Cooking time 1 hr 15 mins, plus 2-3 hours to cool
ingredients
4 large egg whites
225g caster sugar
½ tsp lemon juice
FOR THE CLEMENTINE CURD
100ml Borderfields Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil
120g caster sugar
2 clementines, zested and juiced
Juice of 1 lemon
4 large egg yolks
TO SERVE
600ml double cream
2 tsp vanilla bean paste
3-4 clementines
300g blackberries, raspberries, cranberries
8 Bay leaves
Icing sugar
method
Preheat the oven to 140°C or 120°C fan. Draw a circle 23cm in diameter on a piece of greaseproof paper and use this to line your baking sheet.
Separate the eggs, being careful not to get any yolk into the white. Place the yolks in a glass bowl and set aside.
Place the whites in a bowl and use an electric whisk to beat until it makes soft peaks. Add around a quarter of the sugar and whisk until incorporated. Add the same amount of sugar again and continue to whisk, repeating until all the sugar has been added. Continue to whisk until you have a thick, shiny meringue.
Scoop the meringue onto the baking paper, then spread out to cover the circle, building the sides up and leaving a well in the middle (see image).
Place the meringue into the oven and immediately turn down the heat to 120°C / 100°C fan. Then bake for 1 hr 20 minutes. Turn the oven off and leave the meringue in there for approximately 4 hours until cool.
Meanwhile, make the citrus curd. Add all the ingredients into a heatproof bowl and whisk well, then place over a saucepan with 2 inches of simmering water in the bottom. Keep on a medium heat, whisking constantly until the mixture starts to thicken, which should take approximately 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk until it cools slightly (to avoid it curdling).
Once the curd and meringue have cooled, put the double cream and vanilla into a mixing bowl and whisk the cream until it is thick and holds its shape.
To serve, spoon the vanilla cream into the centre of the meringue. Spoon over the citrus curd, letting it trickle down the sides of the meringue. Peel 3-4 whole clementines (depending on size) to decorate, along with the winter berries and bay leaves. Sprinkle with icing sugar.
HINTS AND TIPS
To cook the citrus curd in a microwave: Add the egg yolks to a microwave-proof bowl and whisk. Add the sugar, and cold-pressed rapeseed oil and the finely-grated lemon and clementine zest and juice. Cook in the microwave on full heat for 20 seconds, whisking and repeating at increments of 20 seconds until the curd is smooth and thickened.
