Desserts
British
BritishEton Mess
The classic English summer pudding of crushed meringue, cream and strawberries, shown three ways. Basic leans on shop-bought shortcuts, while Ultimate folds through a strawberry coulis and homemade meringue.
Vegetarian
Gluten-free
Nut-free
Ultimate version
Homemade chewy meringue, a glossy strawberry coulis and Chantilly cream.
Per serving£2.38
Total cost£9.50
Time1 hr 45 min
Ingredients for 4
- For the meringue
- 2 egg whites , room temperature
- 110 g caster sugar
- ½ tsp white wine vinegar
- For the coulis and to serve
- 500 g ripe English strawberries , hulled
- 30 g icing sugar , for the coulis
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- For the Chantilly
- 300 ml double cream , well chilled
- 1 vanilla pod , seeds scraped
- 20 g icing sugar , for the cream
Method
- Heat the oven to 120C fan. Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks, then add the caster sugar a spoonful at a time until thick and glossy; whisk in the vinegar.
- Spread into a rough slab on a lined tray and bake for 75 minutes until crisp outside and chewy within, then cool completely.
- Blitz half the strawberries with the icing sugar and lemon juice, then sieve to make a smooth coulis.
- Whip the cream with the vanilla seeds and icing sugar to soft Chantilly peaks.
- Quarter the remaining strawberries and break the cooled meringue into shards.
- Layer cream, meringue and strawberries in glasses, spooning coulis between the layers.
- Finish with a final drizzle of coulis and serve at once.
Equipment
- stand mixer
- baking tray
- blender
- fine sieve
The three ways, side by side
Budget
Shop-bought meringue nests, squirty cream and value strawberries.
Better
Hand-whipped double cream with vanilla and a quick strawberry crush.
Ultimate
Homemade chewy meringue, a glossy strawberry coulis and Chantilly cream.
