Love that they call these (photo above) meringue nests, as if the meringue are wee, fey creatures of the forest!
This is a dessert that falls most definitely under the cbf cooking category (excuse my language!). Unless you’re making the meringue yourself, a very Eton Mess is an easy “pantry staples” dish, alongside others such as apricot chicken and tuna mornay, except it’s EVEN EASIER.
And what do you get? Crunchy, creamy, sweet, tarty, fresh and light! Oh, and did I mention easy? Definitely a recipe I wish I used when I was younger.
Honestly, just buy individual meringues at the supermarket. I’m usually a big stickler for making things from scratch, but with something like individual meringues, unless the supermarket ingredients list is a million-suspicious-miles long, I cbf. Then, add fresh berries and passionfruit (also acceptable to use pantry staples here e.g. my passionfruit here was tinned), and whip some cream.
Traditional Eton Mess used only meringue, cream, strawberries and cherries, so stick with that, if you prefer.
The only thing that takes any time in my Eton Mess is making the strawberry and raspberry coulis – but the tartiness of this makes a hella difference to the outcome, so absolutely worth ten minutes pre-preparation of your time.
In the photos, I’ve broken up the meringue nests, but you needn’t, if you want to keep it small and pretty. However this does limit the amount of cream you can add, without it toppling over, and defeats the “mess” part. Also, I used lactose free cream, which made this dessert both gluten free and lactose free. Huzzah!
Strawberries that in gardens grow
Are plump and juicy fine,
But sweeter far as wise men know
Spring from the woodland vine.No need for bowl or silver spoon,
-Robert von Ranke Graves (1895-1985) from “A Ballad of Nursery Rhyme”, poem in the Public Domain
Sugar or spice or cream,
Has the wild berry plucked in June
Beside the trickling stream.
My Very Eton Mess
Ingredients
- 80 g meringue, either nests or large ie two small meringue nests per person
- 1 punnet strawberries (250g)
- 1 punnet raspberries (125g)
- 300 ml thickened cream (can be lactose free), if you like a lot of cream simply make extra
- 1 small tin passionfruit pulp (170g)
- 1 punnet blueberries (optional, if you want to add more fruit)
- 3 tbsp caster sugar
Instructions
- Set half the punnet of strawberries aside for decoration.
- Put remaining strawberries and raspberries in a small saucepan. Add a small splash of water and the caster sugar. Bring to boil, then cook on low heat until fruit is pulpy, about ten minutes. Taste, and if you prefer a little extra sugar add this now and dissolve.
- Whip cream to firm peaks.
- Assemble. Crumble meringue into bowl. Add cream, coulis, fresh berries and passionfruit however way you like it. Serve immediately.
Leave a Reply