Eton
Mess takes fresh strawberries, whipped cream, and broken meringue cookies
and just mixes them all together in one big bowl. How lovely it all looks
and tastes with the rich flavor of the heavy cream, the sweet meringues that
simply melt in your mouth, and
the lovely aromatic
strawberries. But why the name "Eton Mess"? The "Eton" comes from the fact
that this dessert was created at Eton College, which is one of
Britain's most famous public schools whose alumni includes 18 Prime
Minister's of Great Britain. The
"Mess" in Eton Mess is due to the fact that the cream, strawberries and meringue cookies
are all just mixed together in one big bowl that looks, frankly, like a
bit of a mess.
To intensify the strawberry flavor I sometimes drizzle strawberry
sauce (recipe included)
over the top of the Eton Mess once it is placed in the individual serving
bowls. In fact, you could even add a little of the sauce to the Eton Mess, making
it similar to a Fruit Fool. This
dessert can also be made with fresh raspberries, in place of the
strawberries, as their tart flavor goes very well with the sweet cream and
meringue cookies. While I like to make my own meringue cookies (recipe
included)
you could use store bought.
It is best to make this
dessert when strawberries are in season. When buying strawberries,
look for ones that are
bright red, plump, firm, with no white or green "shoulders" at the stem end.
The green leaf-like cap or hull should still be attached and it should not
be brown or wilted. There
should be no soft spots, bruising or mildew. Always check the
underside of the container to make sure there are no squashed berries or juice
(sign of overripe berries). If not using immediately store in a single
layer on a paper towel-lined tray in the refrigerator for a couple of
days.
Cream
is a very important part of this dessert as it binds everything together.
Cream is the fat that
rises to the top of whole milk. It has a smooth, satiny texture and is
labeled according to its butterfat content (heavy to light). When making
an Eton Mess use 'Heavy' Cream or Heavy 'Whipping' Cream which means it
has a 36 - 40% butterfat that will double in volume when whipped and hold
its form. Because of its superior flavor, I recommend using an organic
brand of heavy whipping cream.
Meringue
Cookies:
Preheat oven to 200 degrees F (105 degrees C) and place the rack in the center of your oven. Line
a baking sheet with parchment paper. You can form the cookies with a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2 inch (1.25 cm)
plain tip, or just use two spoons.
In the bowl of
your electric mixer, with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on
low-medium speed until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue to beat
the whites until they hold soft peaks. Add the sugar, a little at a time,
and continue to beat until the meringue holds very stiff peaks. Beat in the
vanilla extract.
Note: The
meringue is done when it holds stiff peaks and when you rub a little between
your thumb and index finger it does not feel gritty. If it feels gritty
the sugar has not fully dissolved so keep beating until it feels smooth between
your fingers.
Before placing the
cookies on the cookie sheet, place a little of the meringue on the underside of
each corner of the parchment paper. This will prevent the paper from sliding.
Transfer the meringue to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) tip. Pipe
2 1/2 inch (6 cm) rounds of meringue in rows on the prepared baking sheet.
Alternatively, just spoon mounds of meringue, using two spoons, onto the
prepared sheets.
Bake the meringues
for approximately 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours, rotating the baking sheet from front
to back (about half way through) to ensure even baking.
The meringues are done when they are pale in color and fairly crisp. Turn off the oven, open the door a crack, and leave the meringues in the oven to
finish drying overnight.
Makes about 10 - 2
1/2
inch (6 cm) meringues
Eton
Mess: Place about one third of the strawberries in your
food processor and
process until pureed.
Cut the rest of
the strawberries into bite size pieces and place in a
large bowl, along with the pureed strawberries. Sprinkle the granulated white
sugar over the strawberries and stir to combine. Break five to six meringue
cookies (use more or less if you like) into bite size pieces .
In a large bowl, whip the
heavy whipping cream until stiff peaks form (sweetened with a little sugar if
desired). Then fold in the strawberries and meringue cookies. Serve in
dessert bowls or long stemmed glasses with a little strawberry sauce (if desired) drizzled over the
top.
3/4 cup (150 grams) superfine or caster
sugar (if you don't have superfine sugar simply
take granulated white sugar and process it for about 30 seconds in a
food processor)
1 pound bag (454 grams) frozen
unsweetened strawberries
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons (90 grams)
granulated white sugar
For the sauce: Thaw
the strawberries (this will take a few hours). Place the
strawberries in a food processor, fitted with a steel blade, and process
until the berries are pur?/font>ed.
Transfer to a bowl and stir in the sugar. Taste and add more sugar
if necessary.
s
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