Abi’s famous gooey pavlova

Looking for the best meringue recipe for your pavlova? You can't go wrong with Abigail Donnelly's signature recipe – it's a showstopper with a gooey centre.

Preheat the oven to 150°C.

Beat the egg whites until stiff using a stand mixer.

Add 1 T caster sugar at a time, whisking for 30 seconds after every addition. After all the sugar has been added, whisk for 5 minutes until stiff and glossy.

Place a sheet of baking paper onto a baking tray and spoon the meringue onto it in rough 15 cm circles.

Place in the oven and reduce the heat to 120°C. Bake for 3 hours, then cool.

To serve, top with the yoghurt, roasted strawberries and coconut. Sprinkle with the dehydrated strawberry powder.

To make the roasted strawberries, wash and hull the strawberries. Cut in half and place on a baking tray. Sprinkle generously with caster sugar and roast at 180°C for 20 minutes, or until sticky.

Cook's note: There are two secrets to the best ever pavlova.

The first: ensure your eggs are at room temperature before beating.

The second - and probably most important - secret to the best-ever pavlova: warm the sugar before adding to the eggs. Warm sugar in an oven at 180°C for approximately 10 minutes, or until it's warm to touch. It shouldn't be melting! Warming the sugar ensures that it will dissolve easily into the beaten egg, meaning the meringue won't seep or crack.

Make sure the oven temperature isn’t too high or the meringues will brown too much before they dry out.

Don’t be put off by the three-hour baking time – meringues are easy to make and can be baked ahead.

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