Raspberry meringue terrine

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This show-stopping dessert combines melt-in-the-mouth meringue, buttery Madeira cake, delicate whipped cream and fresh raspberries. Scrumptious!

Ingredients

Don't serve the terrine straight from the freezer - it will be too hard. Pop it in the fridge for an hour, and it will be just soft enough to slice.

For the meringue:

To decorate:

Fresh fruit, such as strawberries and blackcurrants, and warmed sieved apricot jam, to glaze

Put 150g (5½ oz) of the sugar in a small saucepan with 100ml (3½ fl oz) water and heat slowly until the mixture is clear. Increase heat until boiling, then simmer for 5-7 mins. Whisk the egg yolks on full speed until pale, thick and creamy. Trickle in the boiling syrup and carry on whisking on full speed until the mixture is cool (it will increase in volume and become creamy).
In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff, then gradually whisk in the remaining sugar. Fold into the egg yolk mixture, followed by the whipped cream.
Line a large loaf tin with cling film. Cut the Madeira cake into three, lengthways. Put one layer in the bottom of the tin and cover with raspberries, then a layer of cream mixture. Repeat these layers twice more and freeze overnight.
For the meringue, put the egg whites in a bowl, add 1tbsp of the sugar and a squeeze of lemon juice. Beat at full speed until the foam forms a peak, then gradually whisk in the rest of the sugar.
Turn out the terrine and set on a heatproof and freezerproof serving plate. Put the meringue mixture into a piping bag fitted with a star-shaped nozzle and pipe the meringue over the sides and top of the terrine. Next, use a cook's blowtorch to turn the meringue a nice golden colour, then pop back in the freezer.
Just before serving, decorate the top with fresh fruit and glaze with apricot jam.