The recipe for Eton Mess consists of two parts: the meringue nests and the actual "mess" put together. If you are not culinary savvy, I suggest that you purchase ready-to-eat meringue nests from a grocery store rather than attempt to bake these tricky treats on your own. Meringue, like many creams, is very sensitive and the conditions must be exactly right in order for the concoction to set. If the weather where you live is wet or humid, you should wait for a dry, sunny day to prepare your meringue. Meringue is made using egg whites, cream of tarter, and vanilla extract. See the recipe that I used to make meringue nests below for more details.
Eton Mess in it's self is easy to make and requires absolutely no cooking, unless you couldn't find meringue nests in your local grocery store. (Lucky me!) Simply cut and puree strawberries, whip the double cream to stiff peaks, crush the meringue nests, and mix the "mess" together. Serve in a cold wine glass and garnish with whole strawberries and springs of mint. The recipe I used (see below) serves four.
Here is the Eton Mess recipe I used from BBC and my recipe for Meringue Nests:
Eton Mess
Ingredients:
·
500g/1lb 2oz strawberries, hulls removed
·
400ml/14fl oz double cream
·
3 x 7.5cm/3in ready-made meringue nests, crushed
·
sprigs of fresh mint, to garnish
Directions:
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| Whipped Double Cream |
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| Pureed Strawberries |
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| Chopped Strawberries |
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| Strawberries in a Blender |
·
Purée half the strawberries in a blender. Chop
the remaining strawberries, reserving four for decoration.
·
Whip the double cream until stiff peaks form,
then fold in the strawberry purée and crushed meringue. Fold in the chopped
strawberries and ginger cordial.
·
Spoon equal amounts of the mixture into four
cold wine glasses. Serve garnished with the remaining strawberries and a sprig
of mint.
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| Eton Mess |
.JPG) |
| Eton Mess (Aerial View) |
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| Eton Mess in A Bowl |
Meringue Nests
Ingredients:
·
3 egg whites
·
½ tsp of vanilla extract
·
¼ tsp of cream of tartar (this is optional – it works
well without it)
·
¾ cup of sugar
·
Parchment paper (to bake on)
Directions:
·
Pour egg whites or separate cold eggs into a
small bowl (be sure not to get any egg yolk in the bowl, if you do fish it out
with the cracked egg shell half, not your fingers)
·
Set the small bowl of egg whites into a larger
bowl filled with hot water (not too hot, though… put plastic wrap over the bowl
of egg whites to prevent spillage) for 15 minutes or until the egg whites are
at room temperature
·
Add the vanilla extract and cream of tartar to
the egg whites, beat together with an electric mixer on medium speed until soft
peaks have formed (this means that the mixture can stay on the spoon when
turned upside down)
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| Baked Meringue Nests |
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| Unbaked Meringue Nests |
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| Meringue |
·
Slowly add in the sugar ¼ of a cup at a time
while beating on high speed, repeat the process until all of the sugar is completely
blended and the meringue is in hard peaks (meringue should set within 5 to 7
minutes… if it does not start over because you have done something wrong)
·
Drop meringue into eight mounds on the parchment
paper lined baking sheet, form the mounds into 3 inch bowls with the back of a
spoon or pipe the meringue into bowls
·
Bake at 275 for 40 to 45 minutes, then turn off
the oven and let the meringue nests set for 1 hour (inside the cooling oven)
·
Crush meringue nests (4) to use in the Eton mess
recipe or fill with your favorite fruit filling for an entirely different
dessert
·
Makes eight servings
Sources:
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/etonmess_81082
- http://britishfood.about.com/od/strawberryrecipes/r/etonmess.htm
- Meringue Nests Recipe from a cookbook at my house
