Eton Mess
A tumbled together summer pudding — crushed meringue, softly whipped cream and macerated strawberries — supposedly first served at Eton College's cricket match against Harrow. It looks like a small, delicious disaster, and it should.
Ingredients
600 g ripe strawberries, hulled
2 tbsp caster sugar
1 tbsp elderflower cordial (optional)
500 ml double cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 meringue nests, roughly crushed
1 handful mint leaves, torn
Method
- 1
Slice half the strawberries and toss with the caster sugar and elderflower cordial, if using. Leave to macerate for 15 minutes.
- 2
Blitz or crush a quarter of the remaining strawberries to a rough purée. Slice the rest for folding through.
- 3
Whip the cream with the vanilla until it just holds soft peaks — you want it loose and cloudlike, not stiff.
- 4
Fold the sliced strawberries and crushed meringue through the cream, then ripple the purée through with a spoon for streaks of red.
- 5
Pile into glasses, spoon over the macerated strawberries and any juices, and finish with a few torn mint leaves. Eat immediately.
Cook's notes
Do not assemble until the last possible moment — the pleasure of an Eton mess is in the contrast between the crisp meringue and the soft cream. Left too long, it collapses into a puddle.