Easy Eton Mess

The wooden kitchen spoon slipped right out of my hand and splashed into the mixing bowl. Making an easy eton mess on a warm Sunday afternoon always gets a bit messy on the counter.

Prep: 15 minutes · Cook: 0 minutes · Total: 20 minutes · Serves: 4

How do you make an eton mess without the meringue melting? You fold the broken vanilla meringue pieces into the whipped cream at the very last second before serving.

If you mix it too early, the moisture from the whipped cream and strawberries will dissolve the crunchy bits entirely.

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The Ingredient List

• 1 lb (454 g) fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
• 3 to 4 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, very cold
• 3 to 4 oz vanilla meringue cookies (10 to 12 cookies), broken into rough pieces

Ingredient Notes

Fresh strawberries are the star of this dessert, so look for bright red berries that smell sweet at the stem. If you pick berries that look pale or hard, they will not release enough natural syrup when tossed with the sugar.

The heavy cream needs to come straight from the coldest part of your refrigerator. Warm cream refuses to trap air, leaving you with a runny liquid instead of soft peaks.

Vanilla meringue cookies add the necessary crunch against the smooth cream. You want simple store-bought vanilla meringues that shatter easily under your fingers without turning into fine dust.

How to Make Eton Mess

1. Toss the berries. Place the sliced strawberries in a medium mixing bowl along with the granulated sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Stir gently to coat the fruit and let the bowl sit on the counter until the berries release their juices to form a rich syrup.
2. Whip the cream. Pour the very cold heavy cream into a large glass mixing bowl. Whip the cream steadily until soft peaks form and hold their shape on the end of your whisk.
3. Break the meringues. Take the vanilla meringue cookies in your hands and crack them into rough bite-sized chunks. Drop the broken pieces directly into the bowl of whipped cream.
4. Fold and serve. Add the macerated strawberries and their sweet red syrup to the bowl. Fold everything together gently just until combined, and serve immediately while the meringue pieces still have their crunch.

Make-Ahead and Leftovers

This dessert is meant to be eaten the moment it is mixed together. Leftovers do not keep well in the refrigerator because the meringue dissolves completely into the cream within an hour.

You can prep the macerated strawberries and whip the cream a little ahead of time if you keep them separate in the fridge. Just wait to break and fold in the meringue cookies until you are ready to spoon it into bowls.

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• Classic Apple Crisp
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• Classic Banoffee Pie

Easy Eton Mess

Recipe by Daisy MerrittCourse: DessertCuisine: American

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Total time

20

minutes

Ingredients

• 1 lb (454 g) fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced

• 3 to 4 tbsp granulated sugar

• 1 tsp lemon zest

• 2 tsp fresh lemon juice

• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, very cold

• 3 to 4 oz vanilla meringue cookies (10 to 12 cookies), broken into rough pieces

Directions

• Toss the berries. Place the sliced strawberries in a medium mixing bowl along with the granulated sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Stir gently to coat the fruit and let the bowl sit on the counter until the berries release their juices to form a rich syrup.
• Whip the cream. Pour the very cold heavy cream into a large glass mixing bowl. Whip the cream steadily until soft peaks form and hold their shape on the end of your whisk.
• Break the meringues. Take the vanilla meringue cookies in your hands and crack them into rough bite-sized chunks. Drop the broken pieces directly into the bowl of whipped cream.
• Fold and serve. Add the macerated strawberries and their sweet red syrup to the bowl. Fold everything together gently just until combined, and serve immediately while the meringue pieces still have their crunch.