British · Dessert · Easy
Eton Mess
Crushed strawberries, clouds of whipped cream and shattered meringue folded together in minutes. The prettiest mess you will ever make.
The whole recipe in 60 seconds
Eton Mess, in 5 ideas
- Macerate the strawberries with a little sugar for 20 minutes and they release a ruby syrup that flavors everything.
- Crush some berries and slice the rest so you get both juicy chunks and syrupy sauce.
- Do not overwhip the cream: soft, billowy peaks fold in far better than stiff ones.
- Fold gently, not stir: you want visible swirls of red, white and meringue, not pink mush.
- Serve immediately after assembling so the meringue keeps its crunch.
What you need
Ingredients
- 500g ripe strawberries
- 2 tbsp caster sugar
- 400ml double cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 ready-made meringue nests (about 100g), broken into chunks
- A few small mint leaves, to decorate (optional)
How to make it
Directions
- Hull the strawberries. Mash a third of them with the sugar in a bowl and slice the rest. Set aside for 20 minutes to release their juices.
- Whip the double cream with the vanilla until it holds soft peaks.
- Gently fold the strawberry mixture and its syrup into the cream, leaving visible swirls.
- Fold in the broken meringue pieces, keeping some chunks large for crunch.
- Spoon into glasses or bowls, top with any leftover berries and a mint leaf, and serve straight away.
Shop-bought meringue nests do all the hard work for you; making your own meringues costs more in sugar and oven time than the box ones, and they taste just as good crushed up.