Preheat the oven to 140°C (fan oven). This is 160°C for conventional ovens (or 325°F / gas mark 3).

Separate the eggs, placing the yolks in a medium bowl and the whites in a large bowl. (The whites will not whip up if there is the tiniest amount of yolk in it. Separate your eggs in a small ramekin one at a time, just to be safe)

In the first bowl of yolks, add the cream cheese, smoked paprika, mustard powder and a generous amount of salt and white pepper. Whisk well to combine and set aside.

In the second bowl, add the cream of tartar to the egg white and whip to very stiff peaks. TIP: I have seen people substitute vinegar for cream of tartar, but I tried it and it didn’t work for me. Cream of tartar is the secret to beautiful meringues, so it’s worth a trip to the baking aisle of your store. (If you are whisking it manually, ensure you use a clean, dry whisk – and not the same one you combined the yolk mixture with. Remember, if there is a tiny amount of grease / yolk on the whisk, your whites will simply not whip.)

Add the yolk mixture to the whipped egg whites, and fold in very gently using a large spoon or spatula. TIP: Folding is a very gently technique in patisserie which combines ingredients without knocking out the air you worked so hard to incorporate. Use a large circular motion to incorporate the mixtures. Even afterwards, do not knock your spatula on the side of the bowl.

Use a large spoon to scoop 6 individual servings onto a tray lined with parchment / greased foil (I used two trays). Be very careful about not knocking any air out when you spoon the servings.

Be very speedy about placing the tray(s) into the oven. Open and close the doors as quickly as possible so no heat escapes. Again (sorry to stress this), do not slam the trays down, the air is still at risk at being knocked out.

Bake for 20 minutes, then turn the oven off, without opening the oven door. Keep them in there for an additional 10-15 minutes with the oven turned off. As the oven temp slowly decreases, the cloud bread will gently cook further in the residual heat and prevent a burnt eggy flavour).