Planning a surprise party for him indoors was a window into the stress of leading a double life. I can never have an affair. I did discover however, that I can make meringues secretly, covertly and quite successfully! I found a recipe for brown sugar meringues which have a lovely rich caramel taste on an Aussie food blog called morsels and musings and adapted the recipe to make small canapé size meringues topped with creme fraiche, drizzled with honey, dusted with cinnamon and adorned with fresh figs. For fussy people I did a classic cream and raspberry combo which was pretty darn lovely too.

Ingredients:
3 egg whites, at room temperature
100g dark brown sugar
50g caster sugar
Pinch of salt

Creme Fraiche to dollop

Honey to drizzle

Cinnamon to dust

Fresh Figs to slice

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 120°C. 

2. In a mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. 

3. In another bowl, combine the sugars and salt and stir thoroughly.

4. Beat in the sugar mixture in 1 tablespoon batches, making sure each amount is incorporated before adding more.

5. Beat until the meringue is thick and glossy, holding its shape (peaks).

6. Spoon meringue into six small mounds, leaving space for them to spread and using spoon to create peaked tops.

7. Bake in the centre of the oven for 60 minutes, then prop open oven door slightly and leave to cool for one hour before removing. Cool one more hour before serving.