Possibly the finest thing ever to come out of the Berkshire boarding school, Eton mess is often credited to an over-excited labrador crushing a pavlova at a 4 June picnic, but in fact has been on the menu there since at least the late 19th century. Whatever the history, however, this beautifully simple dessert is public property now.
Prep 30 min Cook 2 hr 30 min plus cooling Serves 6
For the meringues (or 6 shop-bought meringue nests) 175g caster sugar 1 lemon slice (optional) 3 egg whites, at room temperature 1 pinch salt
To finish 500g ripe strawberries 50g caster sugar 450ml double cream 1 tbsp icing sugar 1 vanilla pod (optional) 6 small sprigs mint (optional)
Start with the meringues, if you’re making them. Heat the oven to 220C/425F/gas 7 and bake the sugar, on a lined oven tray, until it begins to melt at the edges. While it’s in the oven, wipe the bowl of your mixer with the lemon (if using), and add the egg whites. Just before you take the sugar out of the oven, begin to whisk the whites at high speed.
Carefully tip the hot sugar and the salt into the foaming whites and continue whisking until the mixture is cool, glossy and holds its shape. Turn down the oven to 130C/265F/gas ½. Spoon blobs of the meringue on to lined baking trays, well spaced out, bake for about two and a half hours, until crisp, then turn off the oven and leave inside to cool completely.
Wash and hull the strawberries and cut in half or quarters, depending on size: they should be bite-sized in the finished dish. Put in a bowl, sprinkle with 50g caster sugar, toss very gently to coat and leave in a cool place to macerate for at least 20 minutes, until they begin to give up their juices.
Put a large bowl in the freezer, if you have room. Scoop out a third of the strawberries and set aside. Lightly crush the rest into a chunky compote. Pour the double cream into the cold bowl, sift in the icing sugar to get rid of any clumps, then scrape in the vanilla seeds, if using, and whip to soft peaks.
Roughly squash six of the meringues, then fold the pieces and the crushed strawberries through the double cream, making sure not to over-mix: the cream should be swirled with strawberry juices, rather than pink all the way through.
Spoon into a serving dish, or divide between six individual dishes, and top with the remaining strawberries. Finish with a sprig of mint, if you’re feeling fancy, and serve as soon as you can: the meringues will go soggy if kept for too long (although you can make the dish as far as the end of step four in advance).
This is a dessert that encourages experimentation. Bananas are the traditional alternative to strawberries: take four large, ripe fruit and mash half of them into a puree, then fold into the whipped cream in step five along with the meringues. Slice the remaining two and use to top, along with 50g toasted, roughly chopped pecans or walnuts.
You can also experiment with other fruit – summer and autumn berries almost all work well, although some – like redcurrants and gooseberries – may need a bit more in the way of sugar, or pre-cooking down to a rough compote before use. Apples, plums and so on also need pre-cooking, and are excellent with roasted cob or hazelnuts.
A slug of booze in the macerated fruit turns this into a more adult dessert – triple sec or cassis are nice with strawberries, or try a splash of rum with bananas. The same goes for a hint of spice in the whipped cream: black pepper for strawberries, crushed cardamom, cinnamon or nutmeg for banana, and ginger for stone fruit such as plums. Choose your herb garnish accordingly.
For more read The Guardian
