Pecan toffee meringue with mulled pears

• mulled wine600ml ml

  ready made from a bottle

• small, ripe, shapely pears↗6

  peeled, quartered and cored

• golden caster sugar↗50g g
• golden caster sugar↗225g g
• cornflour↗1½ tsp tsp
• large egg whites↗4
• wine vinegar↗1½ tsp tsp
• pecan↗50g g

  roughly chopped

• Greek yogurt500g g
• dulce de leche4 tbsp tbsp

  (we used Merchant Gourmet)

• toasted pecansextra

  (optional)

Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   Put the wine, pears and sugar in a pan and simmer for 10 mins.

2. 2

   Heat oven to 160C/140C/gas 3. Draw a 25cm circle on a sheet of baking parchment, then put on a baking sheet. Stir 225g sugar and cornflour together in a jug. Whisk the egg whites until stiff, then whisk in the sugar mixture, a tbsp at a time, until thick and glossy.

3. 3

   Fold in vinegar and half the nuts, then pile mixture onto the circle, building up the edges to make a ‘nest’. Scatter with rest of pecans then put in oven, turning the temperature down to 150C/fan 130C/gas 2. Bake for 1 hr, then turn oven off and cool inside for 1 hr.