I thought of a dessert. And then I made it. And you can too.

Ingredients for the meringues:

• 2 egg whites
• 1/8 tsp cream of tartar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup sugar

Ingredients for the vanilla cream:

• 3 Tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp corn starch
• pinch salt
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

You will also need:

• an electric mixer
• a mixing bowl
• piping bag, or homemade ziplock version
• stove and oven
• pot and whisk
• bananas
• strawberries (or something else) for garnish (optional)

To make the meringue shells: beat egg whites, cream of tartar, and vanilla at a medium speed until soft peaks form. Add sugar 1 Tbsp at a time and beat on high until stiff peaks form. Carefully transfer into piping bag.

Pipe circles onto parchment paper with an approximate 3-inch diameter. Pipe walls. Bake at 300 degrees F for 35 minutes; turn oven off and leave meringues in oven an additional hour (don’t open the door!). Remove to cooling rack.

For the cream: combine sugar, salt, and corn starch in a small pot. Add milk and gently combine. In a separate bowl, whip egg yolks (by hand). Cook milk mixture over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens — about 5 minutes (or longer if you turn on the wrong burner, not that I would know anything about that). Pour a little of the hot milk mixture into the eggs, give them a good stir, and then pour the milk-egg mix back into the pot. Continue cooking another 2 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla, and cool.

For the filling: mash up some bananas and cover the bottom of your meringues.

Spoon cooled vanilla cream over banana mixture. Pause to admire all of the holes in your meringues the cream is finding for you.

Garnish with strawberries (or something else — or nothing — it makes no difference to me) and refrigerate until ready to serve.