Eton Mess

Hot day on the way home from church. We don't want cake, we don't want pudding and we definitely don't want shop-bought dessert. So for inspiration I go to the one thing we all rely on these days: the internet. In less than a minute I saw on the BBC Good Food website a recipe for Eton Mess. After looking at the recipe, I knew I needed to develop it. Of course I was going to use my Nigella recipe for meringue: for every 2 egg whites, you need 125g of caster sugar, 1 teaspoon of cornflour and 1/2 a teaspoon of vinegar. This is what will transform your empty, hollow, biscuit-like meringue into the light, chewy, marshmallow meringues you need. I also needed a sauce to intensify the juiciness of the berries.

My method is simple: I preheat my oven to 180C/160C Fan/ gas mark 4/350F. I crack my 2 egg whites into the bowl using my hands to separate the whites and the yolks (I don't believe in all this plastic bottle, juggling between shells, buy various contraptions stuff) and begin to whisk away. I used an electric hand whisk this time as I was only using 2 eggs, otherwise it would be my mum's standalone mixer at work here. If you've got the strength, be my guest and use your normal whisk.
So first I whisk until firm peaks start to appear. There'll still be little, tiny bubbles, but that's normal.

"until firm peaks start to appear. there'll still be little, tiny bubbles"

Then I add the sugar, tablespoon by tablespoon, making sure to mix each addition thoroughly before adding in the next one, until a glossy white mixture and very firm peaks form.

"a glossy white mixture and very firm peaks form."

After this I add the cornflour, vinegar and vanilla extract and fold in gently with a giant metal spoon. I plop a big dollop in the middle of a grease-proof papered baking tray and slide that into the oven. Immediately, I lower the oven temperature to 150C/ 130C Fan/ gas mark 2/ 300 F. Doing this will create the crisp shell but still leave the inside chewy as it goes low and slow. I bake it for an hour and then leave it to cool completely in the oven. If I'm in a rush, I'll leave the oven door ajar. Most of the time I leave over night in an off closed oven.

As the meringue is cooling, I can get on with my berry sauce. I chop the stalks off my strawberries and cut them in half. I put 1/3 of my strawberries and 1/3 of my blueberries into a small pot with enough water to fill the bottom of the pot and let the berries float then sprinkle sugar over the top and  bring this to a boil.

I know it's ready when the fruits have softened, releasing their juices. I also wipe my spatula with my finger. When the mark remains and the sauce doesn't ripple back, I know it's ready for certain. I leave it to cool to room temperature then put it in the fridge.

When everything is cooled I start whipping my cream. I always use Elmlea cream because it can't be over whipped and I have a habit of going on and on and on... You may like to add some sugar to your whipped cream, but I find with the sauce and the meringue, it's nice to have a fresh light touch.

After the cream is whipped, I add my fruits to it and mix in. Then I crumble in my meringue and fold in. I drizzle some of the sauce in now and fold, but leave a substantial amount behind. 

Finally, I dish into glasses and drizzle some sauce on top, making sure to scoop some softened fruits onto there too. 

If you're not ready to eat yet, simply place in the fridge until you're ready.

I loved making these, but most especially eating them. They are so light, refreshing and not too sweet so you can easily eat two servings (like I did...) You don't have to use the same berries I did - that's the fun in this, you can mix and match in as many ways as you want, hope you try them out!

Serves 6-7 people

Ingredients:

Meringue 

• 2 eggs whites
  
• 125g caster suagar
• 1 tsp cornflour
• 1/2 tsp vinegar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Berry Sauce

• 100g strawberries
• 50g blueberries 
• water
• sugar

Mess

• 568ml double cream
• 300g strawberries
• 150g blueberries