Rhubarb and custard pavlova

Preparation

Zest and juice the blood orange. Zest and juice the lemons. Split the vanilla pods. Cut the rhubarb lengthways into 1cm slices. Roughly chop the toasted hazelnuts.

Method

1. 1 Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas mark 6.
2. 2 Line a roasting tray with baking parchment and fill with the rhubarb. Top with 150g of the sugar, lemon and blood orange zest and juice.
3. 3 Scrape the seeds from the vanilla pod in there too, throwing the spent pod on top. Cover with foil and roast for 25 minutes, then remove from the oven.
4. 4 Heat the oven to 170°C/150°C fan/gas mark 3½ and line two baking sheets with baking parchment.
5. 5 Whisk the egg whites in a spotlessly clean bowl with an electric mixer, or in a stand mixer, until soft peaks form, then gradually add the remaining sugar a tablespoon at a time, whisking, until thick and glossy. Whisk in the vanilla extract and fold in the chopped nuts.
6. 6 Spread a circle of meringue on each baking sheet. Bake for 35- 40 minutes (don’t worry if the top cracks, it will still taste delightful), until they easily peel away from the parchment.
7. 7 Remove from the oven and carefully lift the meringues and baking parchment onto a wire rack and rest until they’ve cooled.
8. 8 Peel the parchment from the meringue discs and – using a palette knife – lift one onto a serving platter or cake stand.
9. 9 Whip the cream into soft peaks, being careful not to over-whip, and drain the rhubarb from its syrup. Fold 1 tablespoon of the syrup and the custard through the cream, reserving the rest of the syrup for cocktails.
10. 10 Spread most of the cream and custard mixture onto the base meringue, saving some to cover the top layer.
11. 11 Top with half the rhubarb, and sandwich with the other meringue. Pile the remaining cream and custard mix onto the top meringue and cover with the remaining rhubarb.
12. 12 Drizzle with a little more syrup, and serve.