Meringue and honeycomb pots

Ingredients:

Meringue:

• 2 egg whites
• ½ cup (100g) castor sugar
• Generous pinch salt
• A few drops food colouring
• ½ tsp (3ml) flavourings of choice, such as chilli flakes, pepper, cinnamon or coffee powder (optional) 

Honeycomb:

• ⅝ cup (125g) castor sugar
• ½ cup (125ml) golden syrup
• 2 Tbsp (30ml) water
• 1½ tsp (8ml) bicarbonate of soda

Method:

1. For meringues, preheat oven to 100°C. 
2. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
3. Whisk egg whites to stiff peaks, then add sugar a tablespoon at a time, whisking continuously until thick and glossy and sugar has dissolved, about 8-10 minutes in total.  
4. Fold through colouring and flavouring, if using. 
5. Spoon mixture into a piping bag and pipe 2cm-wide drops on tray. 
6. Bake for 1 hour, turn off heat and leave meringues to cool in the oven for 2-3 hours or overnight. 
7. For honeycomb, line a 20cm square pan with baking paper and spray with nonstick spray. 
8. Heat castor sugar, syrup and water in a large pot (mixture will expand a lot, so a big pot is essential) over low heat. 
9. Stir until sugar is just dissolved, then bring to a boil and don’t stir again. 
10. Boil until sugar is a deep amber colour with large bubbles (150°C). 
11. Stir in bicarbonate of soda and mix vigorously to avoid any lumps (take care as the mixture will foam up and be very hot). 
12. Pour into a lined pan and leave to cool and harden for about 30 minutes before breaking apart. 
13. Assemble gift jars, place honeycomb chunks and meringue drops in airtight jars for gifting, or store in an airtight container.