1. Preheat the oven to 350° F (180° C) and line a baking tray with baking parchment.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, or with a hand-held mixer, at medium speed, beat the egg whites until satiny peaks form, then beat in the sugar a spoonful at a time until the meringue is stiff and shiny.
3. Sprinkle the cornstarch over the meringue, then finely grate in the zest of 1 lemon and add the 2 tsp of lemon juice.
4. Gently fold with movements from bottom to top, until everything is thoroughly mixed in. Mound onto the lined baking tray in a fat circle approximately 23cm/10inches in diameter, smoothing the sides and the top with a knife or an off-set spatula. (Since when it cooks it spreads some more, if you want you can make a smaller circle in diameter).
5. Place in the oven, then immediately turn the temperature down to 300° F (150° C), and cook for 1 hour.
6. Turn off the oven, and remove from the oven, leaving it to cool where it is not too cold or it will crack too quickly. I leave the pavlova inside the oven, heat off, with the door completely open, overnight. The next day I turn the pavlova upside down onto a large flat plate or board (I follow Nigella's suggestion to do this just before I sit down to the meal and let it stand till dessert time).
7. Whip the cream until thick and airy. Set it aside for a moment.
8. With a spatula, gently spread the lemon curd on top of the meringue base. Then, always gently, top with the whipped cream.
9. With a gentle hand, arrange the sliced peaches and apricots on top of the pavlova. Serve and enjoy!

For the lemon curd:

1. Beat the eggs, egg yolks, and sugar together.
2. Melt the butter over a low heat in a heavy-based pan, and when melted stir in the sugar-egg mixture, the lemon juice, and finely grated zest. Keep cooking gently, stirring constantly, until thickened.
3. Pour into a bowl (or a  jar). Keep in the fridge until time to use. (I cover the top of the curd with plastic like I would do with my pastry cream, so it doesn't dry out).