Eton Mess with Strawberries, Cream and Meringue

What traditional Eton Mess is

Eton Mess is a simple English dessert made by mixing fresh strawberries, lightly whipped cream and pieces of crisp meringue. It is deliberately untidy. The fruit, cream and meringue are folded together rather than arranged into neat layers, giving the dessert the appearance that inspired its name.

Strawberries are the fruit most closely associated with the dessert today. The traditional combination is very simple: ripe fruit, cream and broken meringue. There is no need for complicated decoration or pastry work.

The connection with Eton College

Eton Mess is traditionally associated with Eton College in Berkshire, although its exact origin is not completely certain. The name was recorded in print in 1893, while accounts of the dessert being sold at Eton College place it in the school tuck shop by the 1930s.

Older descriptions of the Eton version suggest that strawberries or bananas were mixed with cream or ice cream. Meringue appears to have become part of the dessert later. This is one reason why the familiar combination of strawberries, cream and broken meringue should not be treated as the only form the dessert has ever had.

The dessert is also associated with the annual Eton and Harrow cricket match. A popular story says that a strawberry and meringue dessert was accidentally crushed and served anyway. Another version blames a dog for damaging a picnic. Neither story can be treated as a proven explanation for the dish, so the accident story is best regarded as part of the folklore surrounding Eton Mess.

Why the dessert is called a mess

The word describes the appearance of the finished dessert. The meringue is broken into rough pieces, the strawberries release some of their juice and the cream becomes streaked with fruit as everything is folded together.

There is no reason to try to make the finished dessert perfectly neat. A bowl or glass filled with visible pieces of fruit, cream and meringue is much closer to the spirit of the dish than carefully separated layers.

Preparing the strawberries

Use ripe strawberries with a good natural flavour. Hull them and cut the larger berries into pieces. A little caster sugar can be added if the fruit is not particularly sweet. Leaving the berries for a short time allows them to release some juice, which gives the cream more strawberry flavour.

You can also lightly crush part of the strawberries with a fork. This creates a mixture of larger fruit pieces and softer strawberry pulp without turning the berries into a smooth sauce.

Keeping the meringue crisp

The meringue should be broken into irregular pieces rather than crushed into fine crumbs. Mix it with the cream and strawberries only shortly before serving. The longer it sits in the wet ingredients, the softer the meringue becomes.

For that reason Eton Mess is best assembled at the last moment. The contrast between crisp meringue, soft cream and juicy strawberries is an important part of the dessert.

A simple English summer dessert

Eton Mess needs very little preparation and does not require an oven if ready-made meringues are used. It is particularly suited to summer, when strawberries are ripe and readily available.

The dessert can be served in a large bowl for everyone to share or spooned into individual dishes. Either way, the rough appearance is part of the recipe rather than something to correct.