The market stalls are now full of strawberries, and it just so happens that they’re my favourite fruit, so you can imagine how impatiently I wait for spring every year ^^. Strawberry tart, fraisiers, pavlovas… and what if, for a change, you made a strawberry Eton mess?
It’s a dessert served in glasses, incredibly simple to make and even fairly quick. The longest step is making the meringue (and if you’re really in a hurry, you can also buy ready-made meringues… not that I’d recommend it, being a fan of homemade, but it’s entirely possible) 🙂
Strawberry Eton mess is a recipe that actually contains quite few ingredients, as there are only 3 preparations. You’ll need strawberries, of course, which we’ll use as a compote and as fresh fruit, full-fat whipping cream to make the chantilly cream, and meringue.
It’s hard to get any simpler. If you love pavlova but you’re not really the meticulous type, you don’t feel like fussing over piping the meringue prettily and on top of that you’re in a hurry, Eton mess is made for you!
Even though Eton mess is traditionally made with strawberries, you can use your favourite fruit and flavour the chantilly cream however you like (here, it’s a vanilla chantilly cream but you could very well imagine a chantilly cream with lime zest, or flavoured with basil or mint. Anything is possible…
What is an Eton mess?
Eton mess is a traditional British dessert, made up of a mixture of fresh strawberries in summer (or bananas, generally more in winter), pieces of meringue and chantilly cream. The word “mess” is said to refer to the way this dessert is presented (“mess” meaning « désordre » in French). And it’s clearly a jumble in the glass 😛
But then where does the name come from? Some say this dessert was born in the 1920s during the annual Eton College picnic: a labrador is said to have jumped onto the picnic basket of a family from London’s high society during a cricket match. The labrador thereby squashed the meringue, strawberries and cream. Another legend has it that, in the early 1920s, an English family was on its way to visit their son, a student at Eton College. Among the provisions being brought to this boarding student was a pavlova which, during the journey, didn’t hold up very well and collapsed, ending up as a chaotic mixture of meringue, chantilly cream and red berries. (Source: 196flavors.com)
What’s the difference with a pavlova?
Pavlova is an iconic New Zealand dessert based on meringue, named in honour of the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova. The meringue is topped with chantilly cream and fresh seasonal fruit. It’s excellent! You’ll find several pavlova recipes on the blog, by the way: strawberry pavlova, red berry pavlova, yellow pavlova (pineapple, mango, banana), exotic pavlova, strawberry, raspberry and basil pavlova…
In the end, they’re the same ingredients as Eton mess. The only difference lies in the somewhat « anarchic » preparation of the English version of this dessert.
How do I get my chantilly cream right?
If you’ve ever had your chantilly cream fail on you, here are a few tips that might come in handy.
First of all, you need to use full-fat whipping cream, that is, a cream containing at least 30% fat (you can sometimes find it at 35%). Start by putting the bowl and the mixer’s whisks in the fridge for 1h (or 15-20 minutes in the freezer if you have the room). The cream must also be very cold. Pour the cream into the bowl and start whisking at low speed, the aim being to incorporate as much air as possible. You can gradually increase the speed to reach medium power, but it’s completely pointless (and counter-productive) to whisk at maximum power
You can also add a little mascarpone to your whipping cream, 10 to 20% seems reasonable. This will help the chantilly cream hold better (and besides, mascarpone being very rich, it helps the chantilly cream whip up nicely).
Once the cream has gone nicely “frothy” or “bubbly”, you can gradually add the icing sugar, sifted beforehand (and the vanilla). The chantilly cream will start to firm up; you can tell because ridges start to form in the cream. Don’t hesitate to stop and check the texture of the chantilly cream. Over-whipped, it will be too fatty and that’s rather unpleasant in the mouth. Under-whipped, you’ll have trouble piping it. You have to know when to stop. If in doubt, stop and finish by hand with a whisk, it’s easier to control.
One last thing, I’d advise using it straight away. Don’t leave it sitting in your bowl.
Ingredients & method
4 components · Full recipe
Meringue
Ingredients
- 60 g (2.1 oz) egg whites (about 2 whites)
- 60 g (2.1 oz) caster sugar
- 60 g (2.1 oz) icing sugar
Method
1
Preheat the oven to 80°C / 176°F.
2
Separate the whites from the yolks. Ideally the whites should be at room temperature.
3
Start whipping the whites with an electric beater or stand mixer at low speed to incorporate the most air. The whites will begin to foam.
4
Add the caster sugar gradually once the whites are already a little whipped.
5
Continue whisking to stiffen the whites. When you remove the whisk from the meringue, the bird's beak peak should appear.
6
Then add the sifted icing sugar and fold gently with a spatula.
7
Transfer the mixture to a piping bag fitted with a plain or fluted nozzle, as you prefer.
8
Place a sheet of baking paper on a baking tray then pipe small mounds of meringue in a staggered pattern.
9
Bake for about 1 hour then leave in the switched-off oven for another hour.
Strawberry Compote
Ingredients
- 750 g (26.5 oz) strawberries (250 g (8.8 oz) for the compote)
- a little lemon juice
- 20 g (0.7 oz) sugar
- 4 g (0.1 oz) NH pectin
Method
1
Wash the strawberries. Roughly chop 250 g (8.8 oz) of strawberries and heat them in a saucepan.
2
When the strawberries are hot, add the sugar/pectin mixture (previously mixed together) and bring the whole thing to the boil for several minutes.
3
Off the heat, add the lemon juice and blitz with an immersion blender.
4
Pour the strawberry compote into a wide dish, cover with cling film and place in the freezer for 30 minutes. The compote should set firm under the action of the pectin. Once the compote has set, put it in a jug and blitz with an immersion blender to make it smooth again.
5
Cut the remaining strawberries into small dice and place them in a small bowl. Add the strawberry compote and mix gently with a spatula.
6
Cover with cling film and refrigerate while waiting for the assembly. Remember to set aside a few whole strawberries for the final decoration.
Vanilla Whipped Cream
Ingredients
- 400 g (14.1 oz) whole liquid cream
- 40 g (1.4 oz) mascarpone
- 3 to 4 tablespoons icing sugar (to taste)
- 1 vanilla pod
Method
1
Place the bowl and the electric beater whisks in the freezer for at least 15 minutes.
2
Pour the liquid cream and mascarpone into the bowl and start whisking at medium speed, then when the cream starts to firm up a little, increase the speed.
3
Add the icing sugar and vanilla when the cream is almost whipped.
4
Transfer to a piping bag without a nozzle.
Strawberry Eton Mess Assembly
Ingredients
- 6 strawberries
- the small meringues
- the strawberry compote
- 1 lime
Method
1
In each glass, pipe a little vanilla whipped cream at the bottom.
2
Break a few meringues on top then pour a little strawberry compote.
3
Add a little more whipped cream, meringue then compote.
4
Finish by decorating with a halved strawberry, a few small meringues and lime zest. I recommend assembling this dessert at the last minute as the meringue will soften on contact with the strawberry compote and whipped cream. So do not prepare this dessert hours in advance (it's very quick to make anyway). You can prepare the various elements that make up this dessert but assemble just before serving (ideally).
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