Pavlovas served with vanilla pastry cream, roasted rhubarb, vanilla whipped cream & crunchy crystallised nuts

Line a large baking tray with baking parchment then draw five 10 cm circles onto the parchment with a pen. Flip the parchment over so that the circles are underneath.

Add the egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer then whisk on a medium speed to soft peaks. This will take 2-3 minutes.

Next, turn the mixer speed down slightly then add in the caster sugar a tablespoon at a time, making sure to let the sugar mix in fully before adding in more. I find that adding a spoonful of sugar in every 20 seconds or so is best.

Once all the sugar has been added, turn the mixer back up to medium then continue whisking for 15-20 minutes, until the meringue has reached stiff peaks and is thick & glossy.

Whilst your meringue is whisking to stiff peaks, preheat an oven to 160°c/140°c fan (320°f/284°f).

Add the cornflour, vinegar & vanilla to the meringue then whisk for another minute or so (on medium), until combined.

Transfer the meringue into a piping bag, then pipe 5 domes of meringue onto the tray, using the circles that you drew earlier as guides.

Next, use a palette knife or spoon to shape each meringue so that they're roughly 5 cm tall, with a shallow crater on top (to hold the custard, fruit & cream!).

Once shaped, place the tray into the preheated oven then immediately turn the temperature down to 110°c/90°c fan (230°f/194°f). Bake for 1 hour then turn the oven off & leave to cool for at least 4 hours or preferably overnight.

The next day, transfer the pavlovas to an airtight container & store in a cool, dry place until ready to serve.

Add the milk, vanilla, salt & half of the caster sugar to a large saucepan then set over a low heat. Warm gently, stirring occasionally until steaming hot.

Whilst your milk is warming up, place the yolks, cornflour & remaining sugar into a mixing bowl & whisk by hand until pale, smooth & combined. This will take a minute or so.

Once the milk is steaming hot, pour half of it into the yolks, whisking as you do so. Pour the now tempered yolks into the pan of milk.

Cook over a medium heat, whisking constantly until the custard is thick & starting to boil. If you take the temperature of the custard with a food probe, it should be around 85°c/185°f once cooked.

Once the custard is cooked, take the pan off the heat, whisk in the butter then pass through a sieve, into a bowl. Place a piece of baking parchment onto the custard's surface, leave to cool slightly then refrigerate until completely cold. This will take at least 2 hours.

Preheat an oven to 180°c/160°c fan (356°f/320°f).

Lightly trim the ends off the rhubarb then cut each stalk into 1" pieces. Place into a heatproof dish with the sugar, orange juice & vanilla then stir to combine.

Cover the dish with foil then bake in the preheated oven until tender but the pieces still hold their shape. This will take roughly 25-30 minutes but check the rhubarb periodically after around 15 minutes.

Once cooked, remove the foil, let the rhubarb cool then transfer the rhubarb & syrup into a container & refrigerate until needed.

Place the nuts onto a small baking tray then cook in the oven for 4-5 minutes, until toasted & fragrant. Set to one side for now.

Next, place the sugar into a small frying pan then drizzle over the water. Set the pan over a medium heat, cook until the sugar has dissolved then add in the toasted nuts.

Keep cooking the nuts, stirring constantly until the sugar has crystallised. This will take around 3-4 minutes & the nuts will have a snowy white coating when ready.

Tip the nuts onto the lined tray, leave to cool then roughly chop before serving.

Add the heavy cream & vanilla into a mixing bowl then whisk to soft peaks (2-3 minutes by hand mixer)

Take the pastry cream out of the fridge, whisk until smooth then transfer to a piping bag.

Place the pavlovas onto plates then give the tops a firm tap with a spoon, to hollow out the craters slightly, making room to pipe in the custard.

Next, pipe a generous amount of pastry cream into each pavlova. Make sure not to overfill them though, we'll need some room for the cream & fruit.

Top each pavlova with a spoonful of whipped cream then make a small crater in the top of the cream with the back of a spoon. This will hold the rhubarb!

Spoon the rhubarb on top of the cream, with plenty of the syrup then sprinkle over the nuts & serve.