Roasted Strawberry Eton Mess

1. To make the brown sugar meringues, place the oven rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat it to 110°C (90°C fan-forced). Line an oven tray with non-stick baking paper. Use an electric mixer with a whisk attachment to whisk the egg whites in a large bowl on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. Combine the brown and caster sugars. With the motor running, add the sugar a spoonful at a time to the egg whites, whisking well after each addition, until all the sugar has dissolved, and the mixture is very thick and glossy (this will take 4-5 minutes). Use two teaspoons to spoon small mounds about 3cm in diameter of the meringue onto the lined tray about 2cm apart.  Bake in the lower third of the preheated oven for about 70 minutes or until the meringues are crisp and hard to touch. Turn off the oven, leave the door slightly ajar and cool it completely in the oven (this will take about 2 hours).

2. To make the Roasted Strawberries, preheat oven to 200°C (180°C fan-forced). Toss the strawberries with the sugar and vanilla bean paste in a bowl. Spread over the base of a shallow roasting tin or oven tray. Roast in preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, stirring gently every 5 minutes, or until the strawberries are soft but still holding their shape. Set aside to cool. Drizzle with the lime juice.

3. To serve, break the meringues into large pieces and reserve a little for decoration. Use an electric mixer with a whisk attachment on med-high speed or a balloon whisk to whisk the cream in a medium bowl until soft peaks form. Add the sour cream and icing sugar and whisk until soft peaks form again. Divide a third of the strawberries among 6 serving dishes or glasses. Top with spoonfuls of about half of the cream mixture and then scatter with about half of the crushed meringues. Continue to layer with the remaining strawberries and juice, cream mixture and crushed meringues finishing with the strawberries. Drizzle with any remaining juice and then decorate with the reserved crushed meringue.