Strawberry season has got to be one of the best times of year in the food calendar. Those quintessentially British berries: shiny, dimpled and perfectly formed, come to life in their ruby red swathes, aligning bushes, pots and polytunnels and bringing with them the promise of a warm summer (or the hope of one, at least…)

Quite honestly I think the best way to enjoy them is fresh, in a bowl with a little cream. Get them into a salad, shake or crumble and I feel a little bemused and totally consumed by thoughts of all the other fruits that would probably, no make that definitely, work better in said recipe.

I don’t have anything against strawberries, they are completely delicious. I just think the flavour is perhaps so uniquely sweet (especially from Secretts Milford who grow a wonderful variety called Malling Centenary), that they are best enjoyed in as simple a form as possible.

The pavlova falls into this simple territory - giving the strawberries ample space to shine like the queens’ they are, whilst offering a delicately sweet cloud of a base to enjoy them on. It’s the perfect food marriage and an easy crowd pleaser.

When I created this recipe for Secretts Milford, they were running PYO sessions, enabling you to pick strawberries, raspberries and blackcurrants straight from the vines and polytunnels. So here is the result - a delightful mixed summer berry pavlova that’s as simple as it is delicious.

INGREDIENTS

• 5 egg whites

• 270g fine caster sugar

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 tsp vinegar

• 2 tsps cornflour

• 1 punnet strawberries

• 1 punnet raspberries

• 80g blackcurrants

• 500ml pot of thick cream

• Handful baby basil (optional)

METHOD:

1. Heat the oven to 120C. Place the egg whites in a bowl and use a hand mixer to whip them into stiff peaks.

2. Gradually add in the sugar, then add the vanilla, vinegar and cornflour. Whisk continuously until you have a shiny, silky meringue.

3. Grease and line a baking tray and use a wooden spoon to spread the meringue into a rustic circle. Bake in the oven for around 1 hour and 15 minutes, then turn the oven off and let the meringue cool on the rack.

4. Whip the cream and spread it over the cooled meringue. Top with strawberries, raspberries and blackcurrants and garnish with baby basil.