Cool the meringue completely, then either lift it off the baking parchment very carefully, or just trim the edges in line with the meringue and serve it off the paper.While the meringue is baking poach the pears. Combine the water, sugar, cardamom, thyme and ginger in a non-reactive saucepan. Bring the syrup to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes, covering the pan after 10 minutes. Peel and core the pears and cut them into segments, then toss them with the lemon juice in a bowl.

Add the pears and lemon juice to the syrup, bring it to a simmer, cover and poach for 15 minutes. Remove the pears and syrup to a bowl leaving in the aromatics and allow to cool.Just before serving, whip the cream with the liqueur until it is stiff and spread it on top of the meringue Remove the pears from the syrup and spoon them on top. Scatter over the finely chopped pistachios and serve it fairly soon while the meringue is still crisp. Having just started to put together my third cookery book (a compilation of articles from this magazine, to be published next autumn), I hesitate, but find myself forced to ask the question “How many more can we possibly need?”

And I mean really, really need. Bake the meringue for 5 minutes and then turn the oven down to 120C (fan oven) /130C (electric oven)/250F/Gas 12 and cook for 114 hours.

Lightly grease a baking tray and line it with baking parchment. Draw an 812in (22 cm) circle on the paper.Put the egg whites in a large, clean, grease-free bowl with a pinch of salt and whisk until stiff. Start whisking in the sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, whisking well after each addition until the egg whites are stiff and glossy – Victoria says you should be able to hold the bowl over your head without the meringue falling out, but I passed on this test. Whisk in the cornflour and vinegar.Chop the pistachios finely in a food processor and stir them into the meringue. Mound it on to the paper-lined tray within the circle and smooth the top and sides. This year, there is an expanded section titled “Victoria’s Perfect Pavlova and Other Famous Books for Cooks Meringues Strike Back” – worth sending off for just for this. Anycase, the method for the meringue is hers, and the embellishment is mine.Meringue:6 free-range egg whites (at room temperature)350g/12oz caster sugar2 tsp cornflour1 tsp white wine vinegar75g/3oz shelled pistachiosPoached pears:570ml/1 pint water175g/6oz caster sugar6 cardamom pods, cracked3 sprigs thymea slice of fresh root gingerjuice of 1 lemon2 large comice pearsCream:275ml/10fl oz whipping cream1 tbsp Poire William liqueur (optional but preferable)To decorate: 1 heaped tbsp very finely chopped pistachiosHeat the oven to 170C (fan oven) /180C (electric oven)/350F/Gas 4.