Eton Mess with a Twist

You can make Eton mess up to five days in advance and freeze it in a rigid container. Limoncello (lemon liqueur) stops this scrumptious mixture from freezing solid. You can make it with leftover meringues, or make a fresh batch as described below. The meringues can be used in other desserts – they’re especially gorgeous sandwiched with whipped cream or whipped cream and lemon curd together, and served with fresh strawberries or other berries.

Recipe from Sweet Feast, published by New Holland. Photo courtesy of Aaron McLean.

Ingredients

• 3 medium (size 6) free-range egg whites, at room temperature
• 165g caster sugar
• 150g fresh or frozen raspberries
• 400ml cream
• 125ml limoncello liqueur
• 500g strawberries
• 1 Tbsp icing sugar, plus extra for dusting
• lemon juice

Method

1 Preheat oven to 130°C (regular bake). Line 2 baking sheets with baking paper.

2 To make meringues, whisk egg whites in a totally grease-free copper, china, glass or stainless steel bowl until they are stiff and can stand in peaks on an upturned whisk. Add 2 tablespoons caster sugar and whisk in for 30 seconds. Sprinkle over the rest of the caster sugar and fold it in carefully with a large metal spoon.

3 Put meringue in a piping bag fitted with a small (1cm) plain nozzle and pipe shapes onto the baking sheets. Alternatively, use 2 small spoons to shape blobs of meringue on the baking sheets. Bake meringues for at least 1 hour, or until crisp and until they will lift off the paper without feeling tacky. Swap the position of the baking sheets during cooking.

4 Tap a little hole in the base of each meringue with a skewer and return meringues to the turned-off oven to dry out; leave for 1-2 hours if possible, then store in an airtight container. 


5 When ready to assemble dessert, crush half the raspberries with a fork. Whip cream in a large bowl, then crumble in three-quarters of the meringues. Gently mix meringues through the cream, then stir in half the limoncello and all the crushed raspberries. Crumble in the rest of the meringues and gently fold together. Transfer to a container and freeze.

6 Hull and slice half the strawberries. Mix in a bowl with 1 tablespoon icing sugar and the remaining limoncello. Cover and refrigerate. Hull remaining strawberries, chop roughly and purée in a food processor. Add a squeeze of lemon juice.

7 To serve, put scoops of Eton mess in glasses, top with strawberries and spoon over a little strawberry purée. Dust remaining raspberries with icing sugar and arrange on top of the desserts. Serve immediately.