Strawberry Overload! Eton Mess is the Answer

Strawberries are cheap at the mo in the UK, supermarkets are overflowing with yummy british ones, but they don't last long so eat them up! The classic strawberries and cream is always a winner, but if you like things a bit sweeter or need to make them stretch a bit further then Eton Mess is a yummy pudding.

It's very easy, it's broken meringues, strawberries and softly whipped cream all bugged together and mixed up. But there is an art to getting it really nice.

The meringues need to be good ones, M&S are the best you can buy if you don't have a french patisserie nearby. Best of all you can make them. Meringues can turn out different in texture and form. For a pavalova I like a thin crispy shell on a foamy marshmallow middle. This is less likely to crack, is easy to cut, and wont sink, and requires a long gentle cooking time and cooling in the oven to prevent it sinking. For Eton Mess I like a thicker crispy shell, and a sunken inside that has gone very chewy, for this type of meringue I make them small and overcook them, cooling out of the oven so they sink. If you made meringues like this all the time they would be a failure really, but these sunken cracked and chewy wonders are perfect for Eton Mess.

To check at what your final meringue is going to turn out like give it a little press, if it feels wobbly in the middle like jelly its going to be foamy, if its firm, has cracked, and you can see the inside like a big cave, then its Eton Mess time!

Making meringues for Eton Mess is also a good way to practice your meringues, as you are going to bash them up anyway. You can also experiment with cooking times with each one, and cooling some in and some out the oven, like a science experiment. Here is my recipe, it makes enough for 4 people.

english strawberries 450gms
double cream 300ml

for the meringues

large egg whites 4
caster sugar 250gms
vanilla essence 1/2 tsp
cornflower 2tsp
white wine vinegar 1tsp

Ok, so lets make these chewy meringues. Preheat your oven to 180. Whip you egg whites with a pinch of salt till they form soft peaks. Now add the sugar a third at a time and whip till its shiny and stiff. Sprinkle on top the vinegar, vanilla and corn flower and give a gently whisk to combine. Blob onto some grease proof paper on a baking sheet, it will make five big meringues. Keep your blobs tall rather than wide as they will grow a little. Put in the oven and drop the temperature to 150 straight away. Cook for 1 hour and 15 mins, then check for texture. Give another 15 mins if still foamy then cool out of the oven (If you are using this recipe to make a pavalova base, make one big round blob and cook for just the 1 hour 15 mins, then switch the oven off and leave to cool in there for a foamy finish). Your five meringues will crack and sink, but thats what we want!

While the meringues are cooling take the stalks of your strawberries and cut them in half. Put in a non metal bowl, sprinkle with a teaspoon of icing sugar, and leave in the fridge, they will go a bit juicy, some red will leak out, and they will taste better.

When you are ready, make this just before you serve it. Whip your cream till it makes very SOFT peaks, it should still slowly pour. DON'T whip it till its all hard and grainy, yack! Crack 3 meringues into big pieces and drop into your cream, followed by the strawberries and any juices. Stir to combine, be gentle so you don't mash the berries or turn the meringue to powder. The cream will continue to stiffen as you stir so don't over work this mixture, thats why we did it very soft, or by now it would be buttery and grainy and not nice.

Blob this into 4 nice bowls, sundae dishes, big wine glasses, whatever looks pretty really. You can save a few strawberries to put on top if you like, a small one with the stalk still on looks pretty. Or if its lost its stalk, replace that with a sprig of mint, fancy pansy.

You can make this with other berries, or cherries, or just made with passionfruit is divine. If you use a mix of berries the sharp ones like black currants work brilliantly. Of course these all make a good pavalova too, just make one big round meringue, cook till foamy in the middle, then turn it over so the crunchy top is on the bottom. Then spread the chewy bottom with softly whipped cream and top with your fruit. I once made a raspberry one and served it with dark chocolate sauce (just warm some double cream and then stir in some green and blacks dark chocolate), its a great combo!