Hertzoggie Pavlova by Bertus Basson

Whip the egg whites until soft peaks form. Slowly add the sugar until it is all incorporated and whisk into a firm peak meringue. Gently fold the icing sugar into the meringue. Pipe two equal disks onto silicone mats.

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 120°C for 90 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the mats. The meringue should be crispy on the outside with a chewy centre.

Make the filling by creaming the egg yolks and sugar until light and fluffy. Sift in the flour and mix thoroughly. Bring the milk and scraped vanilla pod to the boil in a saucepan. As soon as it comes to the boil, pour the milk through a sieve directly into the egg-yolk mixture. Scrape this mixture back into the saucepan and whisk continuously over a moderate heat until the mixture comes to a light bubble and thickens up.

Pass the crème patisserie through a sieve again to ensure that it is 100% smooth. Cover with cling wrap, pushing it onto the crème patisserie to prevent a skin from forming.

Refrigerate until cold.

Place the first disk of meringue on a serving dish. In a mixing bowl, whisk the créme patisserie until smooth, and fold in the whipped cream.

Dress the meringue, alternating blobs of crème patisserie with apricots and coconut shavings. Put the next meringue disk on top and repeat. We added soetkoekies on top for texture.