Meringue Nest Wreath with Plum and Mascarpone

Shop-bought meringue nests speed up this eye-catching pudding. The plums have a lovely jammy flavour, but you could swap them for fresh berries (skipping step 1 altogether), if you like.

Hands-on time 15min.
Cooking time about 30min. Serves 6

3 plums, halved and destoned

1tbsp caster sugar

Finely grated zest and juice 1 orange

175ml double cream

1tsp icing sugar

75g mascarpone

6 meringue nests

25-50g white chocolate

1 Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan) mark 4. Put the plum halves in a small roasting tin, cut-side down. Sprinkle over the sugar and orange zest and pour over the juice. Cook for 30min, or until the plums are tender. Set aside.

2 Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk the cream and icing sugar until the mixture holds soft peaks. In a separate bowl, beat the mascarpone to break up any lumps, then add it to the cream bowl and whisk until just combined (be careful not to overbeat or the mixture will become grainy).

3 To serve, arrange the meringue nests in a circle on a serving plate or board. Spoon the mascarpone mixture on to the nests and top each with 1⁄2 a plum. Drizzle over the liquid from the plum tin. Using a vegetable peeler, shave over curls of white chocolate. Serve.

PER SERVING 300cals, 2g protein, 23g fat (14g saturates), 22g carbs (22g total sugars), 1g fibre

GET AHEAD Cook the plums up to 4hr ahead. Set aside at room temperature. Complete step 2 up to 1hr ahead. Cover and chill. Complete recipe to serve.