Eaton Mess

Strawberries, cream and meringues, are ever so British, and a great dessert standby. Serve them whole and let everyone help themselves to berries and cream.

Smash up the meringues, place in individual serving glasses, add the berries and whipped cream some raspberry coulis and you have Eaton Mess.

This meringue recipe is a breeze to make, all the ingredients are combined in the mixer bowl and beaten for 15 minutes. Simple.

Ingredients

Meringues

• 2 egg whites, make sure you have 1/4 cup, the amount must be accurate to absorb the sugar
• 2/3rd cup castor sugar
• pinch salt
• 1 tsp white vinegar

Method

The Meringues

1. Preheat oven to 120C
2. Combine egg whites, vinegar, sugar and salt in a mixer bowl. Beat on the highest speed for 15 minutes.
3. Cover a baking tray with baking paper. Use either a piping bag to pipe circles of meringue on to the tray or just spoon the mixture into small mounds.
4. Cook on the lowest shelf of the oven for 1 hour, 10 minutes. Turn off the oven, and if possible, leave in the oven with the door closed to cool.
5. Store in an airtight container, in a cool place. They will keep for at least a week.

Notes

Egg whites freeze really well, so never throw them out. Store in mini zip-lock bags in the freezer. Just remember to bring them to room temperature before using. If you forget how many are in each bag, just measure them when they defrost. 2 egg whites equals 1/4 cup.