There are many urban legends about the origins of Eton Mess, one involves an overtly excited Labrador sitting on a pavlova at the graduation ceremony or some said a cricket match at the elite progressive school, Eton College. Hence, the eponymous name of Prince William and Prince Harry’s alma mater bestowed unto the world renown British dessert. And what a sublimely, delectable mess it is!
This is my family’s beloved Christmas recipe of the Eton Mess. In our recipe, we’ve used raspberries, blueberries as well as strawberries. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
Festive Eton Mess
Ingredients
550 gm strawberries, quartered, plus extra to serve
200 gm blueberries, halved, plus extra whole to serve
125 gm raspberries
3-4 tbsp rosewater
110 gm (½ cup) caster sugar
200 ml thickened cream, lightly whisked
125 gm crème fraîche
55 gm (½ cup) pure icing sugar, sieved
Scraped seeds of ½ vanilla bean
1 Cadbury Flake, crumbled for decorative topping ** optional
A handful of fresh mint leaves, for decorative topping ** optional
Meringues
100 gm eggwhite (about 3 eggs)
100 gm caster sugar
100 gm pure icing sugar, sieved
15 gm cornflour
Method
- To prepare the meringues, preheat oven to 120C. Whisk eggwhite and a pinch of salt in an electric mixer until firm peaks form (3-4 minutes). With motor running, gradually add caster sugar and whisk until thick and glossy (2-3 minutes). Sieve icing sugar and cornflour over, fold to combine, then spoon 8cm-diameter mounds onto oven trays lined with baking paper. Bake until meringues lift easily from trays and are crisp but not coloured (45-50 minutes), then turn off oven and cool completely in oven.
- Meanwhile, toss strawberries, blueberries, caster sugar and rosewater in a large bowl to combine, then set aside until juices begin to seep (30-40 minutes).
- Whisk cream, crème fraîche, icing sugar and vanilla seeds together in a separate large bowl until soft peaks form. Scatter a quarter of the strawberries in the base of a 3-litre serving bowl, spread with a quarter of the cream mixture, and coarsely crumble a quarter of the meringue over the top. Repeat layering with remaining ingredients.
- Scatter Eton mess with raspberries, blueberries and extra strawberries and serve. An optional finishing touch is to top off the Eton Mess with a crumbled Cadbury Flake and fresh mint leaves… et Voila!
