Real Recipes From Real Home Cooks ®

eton mess

(1 rating)
Recipe by
Melanie Ross
Rumford, ME

Try this elegant, easy, and no-bake recipe for Eton Mess. Perfect for holiday dinners, all it takes is berries, whipped cream, and crushed meringues. NOTE: The meringue is done when it holds stiff peaks and when you rub a little between your thumb and index finger it does not feel gritty. If it feels gritty the sugar has not fully dissolved so keep beating until it feels smooth between your fingers.

(1 rating)
yield 5 to 6
prep time 15 Min
cook time 15 Min
method Bake

Ingredients For eton mess

  • 4 pkg
    fresh raspberries or strawberries
  • 1 c
    plus 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 Tbsp
    freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 Tbsp
    framboise liqueur
  • 1 2/3 c
    cold heavy cream
  • 1 tsp
    pure vanilla extract
  • 4
    (3-inch) bakery meringue shells, broken in pieces
  • MERINGUE SHELLS
  • 3 lg
    egg whites
  • 1 tsp
    cream of tartar
  • 3/4 c
    superfine or caster sugar (if you don't have superfine sugar simply take granulated white sugar and process it for about 30-60 seconds in a food processor)
  • 1 tsp
    pure vanilla extract

How To Make eton mess

  • 1
    Pour two packages of the raspberries, 1 cup of sugar, and the lemon juice into a 10-inch sauté pan. Crush the berries lightly with a fork and bring the mixture to a full boil over medium-high heat. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is syrupy. Fold the remaining two packages of raspberries and the framboise into the hot mixture and refrigerate until very cold. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the cream, the remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar, and the vanilla together on medium-high speed until it forms firm peaks.
  • 2
    In decorative glasses, layer a spoonful of the whipped cream, a spoonful of the raspberry mixture, and then a few meringue pieces.
  • 3
    Repeat once or twice, depending on the size of the glasses, until the glasses are full, ending with berries and a dollop of cream.
  • 4
    READ BELOW FOR MERINGUE:
  • 5
    Preheat oven to 200 degrees F (95 degrees C) and place the rack in the center of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. You can form the cookies with a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) plain tip, or I often just use two spoons to make the cookies.
  • 6
    In the bowl of your electric mixer, with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on low-medium speed until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue to beat the whites until they hold soft peaks. Add the sugar, a little at a time, and continue to beat, on medium-high speed, until the meringue holds very stiff peaks. Beat in the vanilla extract.
  • 7
    Before placing the cookies on the cookie sheet, place a little of the meringue on the underside of each corner of the parchment paper. This will prevent the paper from sliding. Transfer the meringue to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) tip. Pipe 2 1/2 inch (6 cm) rounds of meringue in rows on the prepared baking sheet. Alternatively, spoon mounds of meringue, using two spoons, onto the prepared sheets.
  • 8
    Bake the meringues for approximately 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours, rotating the baking sheet from front to back (about half way through) to ensure even baking. The meringues are done when they are pale in color and fairly crisp. (The meringues will release easily from the parchment paper.) Turn off the oven, open the door a crack, and leave the meringues in the oven to finish drying several hours or overnight. The meringues can be covered and stored at room temperature for several days.
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