Caramel Chantilly

Makes 12

For the meringue

140g egg white (about 4-5 eggs)

85g granulated white sugar

40g ground almonds

150g icing sugar

40g flaked almonds, lightly toasted

Icing sugar, for dusting

For the caramel Chantilly

200ml double cream

½ vanilla pod, split lengthways

50g sea salt caramel (see below)

You will also need

12mm plain piping nozzle

C8 star piping nozzle

First, make the meringue.

Preheat the oven to 120°C. To prepare the meringue using the French method, whisk the egg whites in a clean mixing bowl until they begin to foam. Add half the sugar and continue to whisk to form soft peaks. Continue to whisk and add the remaining sugar. Whisk to form a stiff meringue.

Fold the ground almonds in with the icing sugar. Spoon the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a 12mm nozzle and pipe 12 5cm x 3cm ovals onto a baking tray lined with a non-stick baking mat.

Decorate with the flaked almonds and dust with some icing sugar.

Leave to sit for 2-3 minutes, then dust again with icing sugar. Bake for about 40 minutes until crisp.

Make the caramel Chantilly and assemble. Put the cream in a mixing bowl. Scrape the seeds from the split vanilla pod into the bowl and whip until semi-whipped.

Beat one-third of the cream into the sea salt caramel, then fold in the remaining cream. Leave in the fridge until needed.

Match the meringues into pairs.

Spoon the chilled caramel Chantilly into a piping bag fitted with a C8 star piping nozzle and pipe a swirl of cream onto the base of half of the meringues. Sandwich with the remaining meringues. Pipe a swirl of cream along the top of each pair to finish. Serve immediately.

Sea salt caramel

Makes about 500g

185ml whipping cream

1 vanilla pod split lengthways

365g caster sugar

60g liquid glucose

300g room temperature, sea salt butter, cubed

Put the cream in a saucepan.

Scrape the seeds from the split vanilla pod into the cream and drop in the empty pod too. Bring to the boil. Take off the heat and leave to infuse for 30 minutes.

Heat an empty, heavy-based saucepan. When it is hot, add one-third of the sugar with the liquid glucose and heat slowly until it forms a light caramel and the sugar crystals have dissolved.

Add the remaining sugar and continue to cook until you get an amber caramel. This will take up to 10 minutes, but there are lots of variables, so you must be vigilant and keep watch while it is cooking.

Gradually add the cream to the caramel (discarding the vanilla as you do). Mix well, then take off the heat. Add the butter, cube by cube.

Pour onto a shallow tray and leave to cool. Store in an airtight container in a cool room for up to one month.

Recipe taken from PÁ¢tisserie by William and Suzue Curley