Michelle Darmody: How to make Eton Mess — and the mistakes to avoid

Pic: iStock

This recipe thrives on substitutions and variations. Once the meringue is made and cooled the rest is assembling. 

Passion fruit, stewed gooseberries, diced mango, macerated raspberries or some lemon curd all work just as well within the assembly as the traditional strawberry.

This is a wheat free dessert, and a nondairy version can be made with coconut cream rather than fresh cream. Use a can of good quality coconut cream and chill it in the fridge. 

When you open the can scoop out the set bit. Whip this until it forms soft peaks. It has a slight natural sweetness so I do not tend to add any honey but you can add a little if you wish. Chilling the tin in the fridge is key to getting a good result. 

If the coconut cream is too stiff when whipping add a little of the liquid from the tin to loosen it up. The rest of the liquid you can add to a juice or a smoothie.

The meringues can be made into nests and filled for a different result. You can of course use a shop or bakery bought meringue for a much quicker version of this dessert.

Eton Mess

recipe by:Michelle Darmody

"This is a wheat free dessert, and a nondairy version can be made with coconut cream rather than fresh cream."

Servings

6

Preparation Time

 20 mins

Cooking Time

 60 mins

Total Time

 1 hours 20 mins

Course

 Dessert

Ingredients

• Ingredients for the meringue:

• a splash of white malt vinegar

• 2 egg whites

• 120g of caster sugar

• for the filling:

• 460mls of cream

• ½ tbs of honey

• 1 tsp of vanilla

• 500g of strawberries, green stalks removed and roughly chopped

Method

1. Line a large flat baking tray with parchment. Pre heat your oven to 130ºC/gas mark ½.

2. Use the vinegar, on a clean cloth, to wipe the inside of the whisking bowl, as well as the whisk. Add the two egg whites and whisk until they form stiff peaks.

3. Gently combine the sugar into the egg whites a third at a time.

4. Spoon the mixture onto your prepared tray and place it in the centre of your oven. Bake for about an hour until the meringues have hardened. Once cool enough to handle transfer them onto a wire rack to cool completely.

5. Whisk the cream with the honey and vanilla until soft peaks form.

6. Spoon some of the cream into the base of four glasses or bowls. Add some cracked meringues and some strawberries and repeat this to layer up the dessert.

7. Serve the Eton mess pretty quickly after it is made.

Tips to make the perfect Eton Mess

• When you are getting ready to make the meringue, crack the eggs one at a time to avoid any yolk getting into the whites, as it contains fat which will stop the whites from fluffing up.
• The white malt vinegar removes any residue of fat or grease from the bowl and whisk to allow the egg whites to whip to their full potential.
• Caster sugar rather than granulated sugar is used for the meringue as the particles in granulated sugar do not dissolve as easily into the egg whites and can leave the meringues feeling grainy.
• To get the best results from your cream it is best to have it chilled before whipping. It is also good to ensure that neither the bowl nor whisk is warm. If you are taking your implements out of a dishwasher, for example, chill them before use.
• You will know your cream has reached soft peaks when you lift your whisk out of the bowl and a peak forms. The peak should fall over to the side rather than stand perfectly upright (which is stiff peaks). To get the perfect soft peaks it is advisable to stop an electric mixer sooner rather than later, and to finish the whisking by hand.
• It is best to make all the elements of the dessert ahead of time and assemble them when you are just ready to eat the dessert, as it does not keep well. The meringues by themselves will store well for about four days in an airtight container in a cool place.

Variations

Passion fruit and mango

In place of the strawberries use one large, soft mango and three passion fruits. Dice the mango and scoop the inside from the passion fruit then mix everything together. 

Passion fruits vary in sweetness and juiciness. If your passion fruit is on the bitter side, you can add a tablespoon of orange juice or a teaspoon or two of honey to the fruit mixture. 

Spoon the mixture over the cream and meringue the same way you would the strawberries. Some toasted desiccated coconut works nicely sprinkled on top.

Banana and Irish cream liquor

To make this adult version use two small bananas in place of the strawberries. In place of the honey and vanilla add 3 tablespoons of Irish cream liquor before you whisk the cream. Top the dessert with some shavings of dark chocolate.

Cherry chocolate and salted peanut mess

This is made by layering 100g of amarena cherries, 40g of chopped roasted peanuts and chocolate sauce with the cream and meringue. 

To make the chocolate peanut butter sauce heat 100mls of cream until shivering, add in 25g of butter and 100g of dark chocolate drops and stir until they melt. Ripple in two tablespoons of peanut butter. Allow this to cool before assembling the mess.