Pineapple Glace Ginger Gateau 

1 Preheat the oven to 140°C (280°C). Push the brown sugar through a coarse sieve.

Whisk the egg whites with an electric mixer until soft peaks form, then gradually beat in the brown sugar one tablespoon at a time. Continue whisking for 2-3 minutes until thick and satiny. 

2 Prepare three 7cm (2.7”) circles traced onto sheets of baking (parchment) paper (two circles on one piece of paper) and add a small dab of the whipped meringue to make the paper stick to the baking tray. Spread the meringue inside the circles as neatly as possible, but without excess fiddling as this will deflate the meringue. Smooth the surface of each meringue round with a knife.

3 Bake for 1¼-1½ hours, alternating the baking trays, until crisp. Turn off the oven and leave the meringues until cool. Gently cover each baking sheet with a cake rack, invert and peel off the baking paper, then turn the meringue right side up again.

4 Meanwhile, prepare the glace pineapple. Trim ends of the pineapple and cut away the skin. Cut the pineapple lengthwise into quarters, then cut away the core. Slice the pineapple pieces thinly. In a saucepan set over gentle heat, slowly dissolve sugar in water, stirring carefully and making sure sugar crystals stay under the liquid level. Bring to a gentle boil and boil for 3 minutes. Add the pineapple and lemon juice. Cover the pan and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove the lid, increase the heat and cook until the syrup is nearly absorbed and is frothy on top, and the pineapple is translucent (30-50 minutes). Turn the mixture out onto a plate and cool.

5 Line a cake tin (make sure it is the same size as the meringue rounds) with plastic food wrap, allowing it to overhang at the top. Slice the stem ginger. Whip 250ml of cream until it’s just holding shape, and fold in the ginger. Put one meringue round in a lined cake tin and spread with half the cream, adding 3-4 slices pineapple. Put a second meringue round on top, and spread with the remaining cream, adding a few more slices of pineapple. Top with the last meringue round. Press down gently, cover and freeze 1-2 hours. 

5 Lift the meringue stack from the tin using the plastic wrap to leverage it out and peel off the wrap. Transfer to a cake stand. Dust the top with icing sugar. Lightly whip the remaining cream, then spread it around the sides of the meringue stack, studding it with glacepineapple. Cut the gateau into slices with a serrated knife and serve immediately.