Eton mess
- Published: 1 May 25
- Updated: 26 May 25
What is eton mess? Well, this crowdpleasing trio of strawberries, cream and meringue is said to have originated at Eton College in the late 19th century after a pavlova-style dessert was dropped (or, some say, an over-excited labrador knocked the pavlova over…). Food writer Debbie Major shares her definitive version and tips for success.
- Don’t overwhip the cream. It should only be thickened and look like it’s just about to start making soft peaks (step 4). The agitation of folding everything together will thicken it further.
- Assemble at the last minute. Combine everything just before you serve or the meringues will soften or dissolve. Don’t be heavy-handed or over-stir – lightly and quickly is the way to eton mess heaven.
- Use the freshest berries and don’t wash them. Water can dilute the intensity of delicate summer fruit (if you do wash them, give them time to dry properly). Make sure the fruit is cut into equal-size pieces – as big as a large raspberry is ideal.
Love eton mess? See the tips below for adding a twist to the classic recipe and try our eton mess traybake cake next.
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Serves 4-6 -
Hands-on time 30 min, oven time 4 hours, plus cooling and overnight drying
Before you start
Chewy meringues have their place but dry crumbly ones work better in eton mess. Use homemade or shop- bought – the important thing is that they’re crisp and dry. If you’re not making your own, use 100-125g shop-bought ones.
Use fresh double cream. Its richness is what makes this simple dessert so luxurious. I’ve found that the fresher and colder the cream, the longer it takes to whip, enabling it to be become lighter and more airy in the process. Cream that’s nearer to its use-by date (or warm) will thicken up quickly and remain quite heavy.
Choose fruit at the peak of ripeness but still firm, so it has a balance of sweetness and acidity. For maximum flavour, it’s also important that the fruit
is at room temperature, not fridge cold.
Nutrition
For 6
- Calories
- 467kcals
- Fat
- 36.2g (22.3g saturated)
- Protein
- 2.7g
- Carbohydrates
- 30.9g (30.7g sugars)
- Fibre
- 3.2g
- Salt
- 0.1g
delicious. tips
Leftovers: Use the egg yolks to make mayonnaise or stir in a pinch of sugar or salt,
put in a food bag, label and freeze for up to 3 months.How to jazz up your eton mess:
Swap the strawberries for raspberries or a mixture of mango and passion fruit.Whizz some of the fruit into a purée, push through a sieve to make a smooth coulis, then ripple into the cream mixture (step 4).
Flavour the cream with cooled melted chocolate, custard or some greek yogurt.
Use gently stewed and cooled fruit, such as gooseberries – particularly good with custard-flavoured cream – or stewed blackcurrants with a yogurt-cream mix.
Fold other good things into the whipped cream along with the meringue (step 4): try toasted chopped nuts or crumbled nutty praline, toffee sauce, chopped stem ginger or grated chocolate.
Make the meringues at least the night before. Store in an airtight container in a cool place for up to 3 days. If your oven has a low setting, you can bake the meringues overnight at 60°C/50°C fan/gas ⅛ or as low as the oven will go.