Ingredients

• 6 egg whites
• 100g caster sugar
• 60ml water
• 20g almond meal
• 20ghazelnut meal
• 5g blanched whole almonds, roughly chopped

• 400ml water
• 100g sugar
• 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
• 60ml raspberry vodka
• 5 strawberries, hulled

• 40g crème fraiche
• 10gsugar
• 1vanilla bean, split and scraped

• 300ml buttermilk

• 100ml raspberry puree
• 50ml water
• 50ml raspberry vodka
• 5 raspberries
• 2 gelatin sheets
• Clear jelly layer
• 2 gelatin sheets
• 60mlwater
• 30g sugar

• 200gpassion fruit juice
• 10gsugar
• 7.5g gluco
• 2gXantara

• 450ml water
• 2g Algin

• 1 punnetedible flowers

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Method

1. For the meringue, preheat oven to 160°C. Make an italian meringue, place water and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to the boil, using a candy thermometer boil to 118°C.

2. Meanwhile, place egg whites into an electric mixer with a whisk attachment. Whisk until soft peaks form. Gradually pour in the hot sugar mixture, in a thin steady stream and beat until cool.

3. Take out half the meringue mixture and place in a clean dry bowl. Fold through almond and hazelnut meal and chopped almonds. Spread over a 20cmx30cm baking paper lined oven tray and bake for 50 minutes. Turn the oven off and meringue in the oven to cool completely. When cool cut into desired sized and shaped pieces.

4. Spoon the remaining plain Italian meringue into a small piping bag with a 1cm round nozzle, store in the fridge for later use.

5. For the strawberries, place the water, sugar, vanilla bean seeds and vodka in a small saucepan and bring to the boil.  Place hulled strawberries into a small bowl, pour over hot sugar and let infuse, covered, for 20 minutes. Set aside.

6. For the cream fraiche, in a small bowl combine vanilla bean seed, crème friache and sugar, mixing until smooth. Store in a squeezy bottle.

7. For the buttermilk snow, place buttermilk in a small shallow tray and set solid in the freezer for 1 hour. Use a fork to grate into snow like crystals before serving.

8. For the jelly, a small saucepan, combine raspberry puree, water and vodka. Bring to the boil, remove from heat and set aside to cool. Bloom the gelatin in cold water to soften. Squeeze out excess liquid and stir in to hot raspberry mixture to dissolve gelatin completely. Pour into a small square cake tin or take away container no more than 1-2cm deep. Place in the fridge until just set, once just set, gently push in the whole raspberries to sit halfway into the jelly.  

9. For the clear jelly, place water and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove from heat, add softened gelatin leaves and stir until sugar and gelatin have dissolved. Allow to cool slightly Pour this mixture over set raspberry jelly, so raspberries look suspended. Set in the fridge. Cut on cross section into small squares.

10. For the passion fruit spheres, in a small bowl, combine juice and sugar, stirring until sugar dissolves. Chill in the fridge. Once chilled, add gluco and using a stick blender puree until dissolved. Add the Xantara and puree until dissolved. Take into a syringe while you prepare the bath. Alternatively you can carefully tip off from a teaspoon.

11. For the algin bath, place align and water in a bowl and beat until algin is dissolved. Leave to sit for a minimum of 30 minutes to allow air bubbles to dissipate. Carefully tip small spoonful’s into the align bath, allow to sit for 2-3 minutes or until the skin forms, turning gently. This will depend on the size of your spheres, the smaller the sphere the less time required in the bath. Carefully lift out using a slotted spoon and place on a flat tray or onto your serving plate.

12. To plate, pipe small amounts of fresh Italian meringue onto clean dry cold plates. Using a brulee torch, holding the flame 3-4cm from the meringue, run the flame over the meringue to gently toast the surface and give a golden hue. Alternatively place under an oven grill and remove when coloured.

13. Place a few pieces of hazelnut meringue onto the plate, add small dots of crème friache.  Place two pieces of raspberry jelly and three poached strawberries onto the plate. Spoon on the passion fruit spheres so they sit side by side. Finish with buttermilk snow and edible flowers.