Tropical Eton mess in minutes

• full fat coconut milk↗2 x 400ml cans ml
• light brown soft sugar↗100g g
• dark rum↗1 tbsp tbsp

  (optional)

• icing sugar↗300g g
• egg white1

  lightly beaten

• small pineapple↗1

  peel cut off, halved and cut into slices

• papaya↗1

  peeled, halved and cut into slices

• raspberries↗100g g
• lime↗1

  cut into wedges

• toasted coconut flakes↗handful of

  handful of

Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   Scoop the thick coconut cream from the top of the cans of coconut milk into a bowl, reserving the coconut milk underneath, and chill while you make the coconut caramel. Measure 100ml coconut milk into a saucepan and add the light brown soft sugar, rum and a good pinch of salt. Bring to a simmer and bubble for 5 mins to make a thick glossy caramel. Set aside to cool a little.

2. 2

   To make the meringues, sift the icing sugar over the egg white in a bowl. Stir until the mixture forms a thick, pliable icing. Roll the icing into balls (about 3 tbsp each), put on a plate lined with kitchen paper and microwave on high for 1½ mins until puffed up. Don’t worry if they look a little misshapen – no one will notice when they’re crumbled. Peel off the kitchen paper and put on a wire rack to cool.

3. 3

   Arrange the meringues on a platter, smashing them up a bit. Whip the chilled coconut cream until smooth, then dollop on top of the meringue. Scatter over the fruit, drizzle with the coconut caramel and sprinkle with coconut flakes. Finally, squeeze over a few lime wedges, using the others to decorate the plate. Serve at the table with spoons for everyone to dig in.