A perfect late spring/early summer pudding, which plays on quintessential Italian flavours. Unlike the traditional (and often overly sweet) pavlova, I prefer a tangy yoghurt cream and velvety curd with just the slight background note of olive oil, which chimes beautifully with the fragrant basil. Decorate with your favourite edible flowers (such as jasmine) and strawberries, or your favourite summer berries. I make double my usual pavlova recipe as it deserves to be mighty and magnificent for a festa, but if you are making for a smaller more subdued setting, by all means halve the recipe.

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 130°C fan (150°C/300°F). Line a baking tray with baking parchment.
• Whisk the egg whites with the lemon juice until they form stiff, satin-like peaks. Add the sugar a spoonful at a time, whisking all the time. Once all of the sugar has been incorporated and the meringue is once again in stiff and silky peaks, whisk in the lemon zest and cornflour.
• Spread the meringue out into a large circle on the lined baking tray, making the edges a little higher than the middle to allow for the filling (I aim for pizza size, i.e. about 25 cm/10 in).
• Bake in the oven for around 1 hour until crisp (gently check the underside), then turn off the oven, open the door and leave to cool completely before topping.
• To make the yoghurt cream, whip the cream in a bowl until you have soft peaks, then stir in the yoghurt and icing sugar.
• To make the curd, whisk the cornflour into the lemon juice until dissolved, then pour into a small saucepan, add all the remaining ingredients and place over a medium-low heat. This will take around 10 minutes. Cook, whisking continuously, until it becomes thick and velvety. Set aside to cool until ready to use.
• To finish, spread the cream over the top of the pavlova and then dot over the curd. Scatter over edible flowers, strawberries, basil leaves and lemon zest squiggles to your liking, and serve.

Adapted from For The Love of Lemons (Quadrille)