Stewed Plum and Philly Fool

1. To make the meringues: Take the 5 egg whites and whisk in a very clean bowl until it forms soft peaks, then start adding the caster sugar, a tablespoon at a time, until all the sugar has been added, the peaks are firm and the egg whites are shiny. 2. Line a baking sheet with baking parchament and spoon 3 large dollops of the meringue mixture onto the sheet. 3. Now place them into a preheated oven at 220℃. As soon as they are in the oven turn it down to 120℃ and leave the meringues to dry out in the oven for 2 hours. Once cooked, turn off the oven, leave the door open and allow the meringues to cool down completely. 4. Alternatively, don't feel bad if you buy pre-made meringue nests as this is a quick and simple dessert. 5. To make the plum compote: Halve the plums and remove the stones. Place the plums in a pan with the sugar, water, cinnamon, creme de cassis and halved vanilla pod (minus the seeds). Place on a low heat and allow to simmer for 25-30 minutes until the plums are soft and falling apart. 6. Now whisk the double cream until it forms soft peaks. As the peaks start to form, pour in the icing sugar and vanilla seeds. 7. Gently beat the Philadelphia and fold in the whipped cream. Add a squeeze of lemon juice. Now smash up the meringues into chunky pieces and fold them into Philly cream. This should be done just before you are ready to assemble the dessert as the meringue will go soft quite quickly. 8. To assemble, spoon 1 tbsp of the cream into the bottom of a serving glass, followed by the warm plum compote, more cream and finally a layer of the compote. Serve immediately.