Friends, mums and self-taught home cooks Mandy Simmonds and Anna Stanford share their family-friendly recipes on Instagram – here is their take on a romantic Valentine’s dessert.

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. If making heart shaped meringues draw two hearts on the parchment paper and turn the paper over.
2. Separate the eggs placing each white in a cup or small bowl before adding it to the whisking bowl. Discard the yolks or refrigerate them for another use.
3. Whisk the egg whites in a clean mixing bowl on a medium speed for 4-6 minutes until you have stiff peaks.
4. Continue mixing on a medium speed adding 1tbsp of the caster sugar at a time. Leave 5 seconds between adding each spoonful of sugar. The meringue mix should be stiff and glossy when all the sugar has been added.
5. Spoon the meringue mixture onto the parchment paper and shape into two heart, round or oval shaped nests.
6. Bake in the oven at 100°C (fan), 120°C (conventional or gas) or in the simmering oven of an Aga until the meringues sound crisp when tapped underneath and are just off-white in colour. Put on a rack to cool.
7. To make the Chantilly Cream whip the double cream and icing sugar to soft peaks then add the vanilla paste or vanilla pod seeds and whisk for a minute more. Chill in the fridge until you are ready to serve.
8. To finish the nests spoon the Chantilly Cream into the middle of the meringues, top with fresh raspberries and dust with icing sugar.