Eton Mess

Name: Eton Mess
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Cuisine: United Kingdom
Ingredients: 600 g (1 lb 5 oz) ripe strawberries, hulled; 25 g (2 tbsp) superfine (caster) sugar; 5 ml (1 tsp) lemon juice; 400 ml (1⅔ cups) heavy (double) cream, cold; 100 g (½ cup) plain Greek yogurt, optional, for a lighter, tangier cream; 5 ml (1 tsp) vanilla extract; 120 g (4 oz) crisp meringue, broken into chunks, store-bought, or a third of the Pavlova meringue

Strawberries, cream and broken meringue, put together in minutes

Serves: 6
Hands-on: 15 min
Total: 45 min
Level: Easy

Crushed crisp meringue, softly whipped cream and ripe strawberries, some fresh and some crushed into a quick sauce, folded together at the last moment. It is summer's easiest dessert, and a good home for a pavlova that cracked.

Ingredients

600 gripe strawberries, hulled (1 lb 5 oz)
25 gsuperfine (caster) sugar (2 tbsp)
5 mllemon juice (1 tsp)
400 mlheavy (double) cream, cold (1⅔ cups)
100 gplain Greek yogurt (½ cup)optional, for a lighter, tangier cream
5 mlvanilla extract (1 tsp)
120 gcrisp meringue, broken into chunks (4 oz)store-bought, or a third of the Pavlova meringue

Diet: Vegetarian, Gluten-free
Allergens: egg, milk
Origin: United Kingdom
Season: Summer

Method

Take 200 g of the strawberries and mash them roughly with the sugar and lemon juice to a juicy sauce. Leave 15 minutes for the sugar to draw out juice. 15 min
Quarter or halve the remaining strawberries.
Whip the cream with the vanilla to soft, floppy peaks. Fold in the yogurt, if using. 3 min
Just before serving, fold the meringue chunks and most of the cut strawberries into the cream, then ripple through most of the strawberry sauce with 2–3 strokes. Don't mix it smooth.
Spoon into glasses or a bowl, and top with the last strawberries and a drizzle of the remaining sauce.

Why it works

Sugar draws water out of crushed strawberries by osmosis, creating a quick syrup without cooking. The appeal is contrast, so the cream is whipped only softly and everything is folded together at the last minute, while the meringue is still crisp. Left to sit, the meringue absorbs moisture from the cream and dissolves.

Common mistakes

Assembling too early; the meringue goes soft within 20 minutes.
Overwhipping the cream; it should be soft and loose.
Using underripe or out-of-season strawberries, which have no flavor.

Variations

Raspberry and passion fruit: Use raspberries for the sauce and fruit and spoon passion fruit pulp over the top.
Winter mess: Use the cooled syrup and sliced fruit from Red Wine Poached Pears instead of strawberries.