Celebrate summer with peaches

I have used a Swiss meringue technique, which is a mixture of beaten egg whites and caster sugar cooked over a bain-marie of simmering water. This is an easy and stable meringue to make.

Peach meringue stack with peach syrup

4 x 700g egg whites

260g raw caster sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

500ml cream

1 teaspoon caster sugar, extra

1 tablespoon Drambuie

8 yellow peaches, ripe stone removed and cut into thin wedges

Peach sauce

3 yellow peaches, coarsely chopped

½ cup lemon juice

? cup pure icing sugar, sifted

Preheat oven to 100°C fan forced.

Lightly grease and line 4 oven trays with non-stick baking paper. Using a 22cm cake pan as a guide, trace circles onto each tray.

Fill a medium saucepan one quarter full with water and heat over a medium heat, then reduce heat to a simmer.

Combine egg whites and raw caster sugar in a heatproof bowl and place over the saucepan, being careful not to let the bowl touch the water. Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved and whites are warm to the touch, about 5 minutes. Test by rubbing between the fingers, if it feels grainy keep whisking over the saucepan until smooth.

Transfer meringue to a bowl of an electric mixer and whisk, starting on low speed, gradually increasing to high until still and glossy peaks form, about 10 minutes.

Add vanilla and mix until combined. Divide meringue evenly between circles of 4 prepared oven trays. Bake for 1 hour then turn the oven off and leave in the oven for another hour so meringue is dry and crisp. Remove from the oven and cool completely. Store meringue disks in an airtight container until needed.

Combine the cream, extra caster sugar and Drambuie in a large bowl and whisk until stiff peaks form. Place a meringue disc on a serving plate, spread with a third of the cream and repeat with remaining meringue discs and cream. Place the sliced peaches on the top disc and serve with peach sauce.

To make the peach sauce, process the ingredients in a blender until smooth, then refrigerate until required. Serve the meringue stack with the peach sauce.