Line two large baking sheets with baking parchment. Draw three 15cm x 27cm (6in x 10½in) rectangles on the parchment (two on one sheet and one on the other) using a dark pen.
Step 2
Preheat oven to 140°C (120°C fan) mark 1. Put egg whites into a large clean bowl. Whisk with a handheld electric beater until stiff but not dry. (To test, dip beaters into the mixture and lift up - the egg white peak should stand up stiffly rather than flopping over.) Gradually add 300g (11oz) of the sugar, whisking constantly, until the mixture becomes very thick and glossy.
Step 3
Smear a small blob of meringue in the corners of each baking sheet, then stick the parchment sheets down, pen side down (you should be still able to see the lines through the paper). Use one-third of the meringue to make each rectangle, staying within the drawn guidelines. Sprinkle the almonds over one of the meringue rectangles (this will become the top layer) and bake for 1¼hr-1½hr until the meringues feel hard to the touch and peel easily off the paper. Cool completely on the baking sheets.
Step 4
When the meringues are cool, make the filling. In a large bowl, whisk the cream and the remaining sugar until the cream just holds its shape, then whisk in the defrosted berries.
Step 5
Use a palette knife to help remove the meringues from the baking parchment. Put one of the plain meringues on to a board or platter, spread over half the cream mixture, then top with the other plain meringue and spread over the remaining cream mixture. Top with the almond-covered meringue, then scatter over a few silver sugar balls and serve.
Get ahead
Make the meringues up to a day ahead. Cover trays loosely with clingfilm and store at room temperature. Complete recipe up to 4hr ahead, cover loosely with foil and keep chilled.
The GH Kitchen Team are Good Housekeeping’s resident recipe developers and all-round food obsessives. GH Kitchen Director Sarah Akhurst is our resident hosting pro and loves nothing more than putting on a foodie feast for friends. Our GH Kitchen Manager Linzi Pucino is our very own Italian food expert (originally hailing from the North East of Scotland!) and can be found working her way through midweek recipes that cover all bases, from haggis to ragu! Our Kitchen Editor Nadine Brown loves digging into the stories behind her favourite foods and enjoys applying her eclectic tastes to more modern, flavour-forward recipes - just don't give her too much chilli! Our Junior Food Content Produce Frankie Prichard combines a love of beautiful presentation and flavour-led, seasonal cooking in her recipe development, along with a passion for bringing people together through food. With a wealth of professional kitchen experience between them, they’re dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work every single time
