ETON MESS
SOURCE: COLMAN ANDREWS. THE BRITISH TABLE: A NEW LOOK AT THE TRADITIONAL COOKING OF ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND WALES.
For more than two centuries, Harrow School and Eton College have been annually embroiled in a serious cricket rivalry held in Lord’s. So far, Eton has not only led their archnemesis by a slim margin of six wins but England’s largest exclusive all-boys boarding school has also lent its name to a sloppy-sounding parfait of whipped cream and broken meringue only served publicly on this sporting occasion and the birthday of King George III every fourth of June. The “Mess”, which first appeared on Arthur Beavan’s 1893 historical manuscripts regarding the garden party menu of Prince George and Princess May of Teck, is etymologically chaotic itself for it may refer to the freeform dessert plating, the serving quantity, or how the gobbledygook of ingredients must be jointly eaten.
Ingredients
10 large egg whites
2 cups/400 grams granulated sugar
3/4 cup/80 grams ground almonds
2 2/3 cups/340 grams fresh raspberries, rinsed
1 teaspoon/5 mL lemon juice
1 1/4 cups/300 mL chilled heavy cream
1 1/2 cups/225 grams fresh strawberries, rinsed and hulled
1/4 cup/30 grams toasted silvered almonds, for garnish
Specific Equipment
Large bowl, preferably copper
Wire whisk
Metal spoon OR spatula
Baking pan lined with parchment paper
Fine-mesh sieve
Small bowl
Large mixing bowl
Serves 4 to 6
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 325°F/160°C.
2. Beat the egg whites in a large bowl with a wire whisk until soft peaks form. Pour in 1 cup/200 grams granulated sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Fold in 1 cup/200 grams granulated sugar and ground almonds with a metal spoon or spatula.
3. Spoon out the meringue onto a baking pan lined with parchment paper and spread it out with a spatula without smoothing down the mixture.
4. Bake for 20 minutes. Lower the heat to 275°F/135°C and continue baking until the meringue has turned pale and slightly crispy.
5. Remove the baking pan from the oven and set the meringue aside in a cool and dry place for at least 3 hours.
6. Press 1 1/3 cups/170 grams raspberries into a small bowl through a fine-mesh sieve and stir in lemon juice. Set the raspberry purée aside.
7. Whip the heavy cream in a large mixing bowl with a wire whisk until soft peaks have formed and the cream has doubled in volume. Break the meringue into irregular bite-size pieces by hand. Fold the meringue, 1 1/3 cups/170 grams raspberries, and the strawberries into the cream.
8. Divide the mixture equally among four to six dessert bowls. Drizzle the raspberry purée over and sprinkle with slivered almonds evenly before serving.
