Eton Mess with a Twist
Ingredients
- 3 medium free-range egg whites, at room temperature (size 6)
- 165g caster sugar
- 150g fresh or frozen raspberries
- 400ml cream
- 125ml limoncello liqueur
- 500g strawberries
- 1 tablespoon of icing sugar, plus extra for dusting
- Lemon juice
Method
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 130°C (regular bake). Line 2 baking sheets with baking paper.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
To assemble
- 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.
- 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.
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.