What's a festive table without a decadent, bursting-with-brightness pavlova? We love this Christmas classic for its balance and abundance — tangy berries meet voluptuous creamy dollops dotted with toasty pistachios and rounded off with that unmistakable meringue crunch *wipes drool*. Sarah Graham's beaut of a recipe's guaranteed to get all the rave reviews from your guests!

Serves 8 – 10

We recommend Cuisinart's Cordless Hand Mixer for this recipe.

What you'll need

• 4 egg whites
• 200g castor sugar
• 1 tsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp cornflour

To serve

• Assemble as a platter with your toppings in small pretty bowls
• 250ml cream, whipped to soft peaks and then fold in ¼ cup Greek yoghurt, 2 Tbsp icing sugar and 1 tsp rosewater syrup (optional)
• 250g each of fresh raspberries and strawberries drizzled with a little lime juice and sprinkled with 1 tsp caster sugar then tossed together
• 100g shelled and roughly chopped pistachio nuts
• 10-12 squares of Turkish delight
• Edible flowers
• Fresh mint leaves

Method

1. Heat oven to 120°C. Mark out the circumference of a circle (trace around something round that is about 8cm in diameter) onto a sheet of non-stick baking paper using a pencil or marker.
2. In a very clean bowl, whisk the egg whites using an electric mixer until they form stiff peaks. Then start adding the sugar in stages, one spoonful at a time, until the meringue is glossy and thick. Finally mix through the cornflour and vinegar.
3. Using a tablespoon, gently divide and spread the meringue within the circles that you have drawn, and using the back of the spoon to create gentle indentations where the sides are slightly higher than the centre. Bake for 25-30 minutes, then turn off the oven and leave the pavlovas inside the oven to cool for a further 1 hour before transferring on their baking paper to a wire rack to cool completely.
4. Meanwhile, prepare your toppings as explained above, arrange your platter and serve.

Note: the meringues can be made up to 1 week in advance and stored in an airtight container.