Ultimate meringue
Learn how to make basic meringues and perfect your whisking skills. These light, crispy baked meringues are the perfect blank canvas for different flavours.
First make the coulis. Put all the ingredients in a pan, bring to a simmer and bubble for a few mins until the sugar has dissolved and the strawberries have started to soften. Remove the vanilla pod and tip the strawberries into a blender or food processor. Whizz until smooth, then sieve into a bowl to remove the seeds. Leave to cool.
You’ll need a large trifle bowl or shallow dish to assemble the trifle. Arrange the Swiss roll slices on the sides and bottom of the bowl and drizzle over about 4 tbsp of the coulis. Cut enough strawberries in half to line the edge of the bowl and place them, cut-side facing out, on top of the Swiss roll layer. Save about 8 nice strawberries for the top of the trifle, slice the remaining ones and mix with 2 tbsp of the coulis.
Add the vanilla seeds and icing sugar to the cream and softly whip. Fold in the yogurt and ripple through the strawberry coulis. Tip half the cream into the trifle bowl, add the sliced strawberries, then half the meringues. Spoon in the remaining cream. Slice the remaining strawberries into halves or quarters and pop these on top with the remaining meringues and the flaked almonds. Serve immediately, before the meringues start to dissolve.