Eton Mess

"What’s a classic dish to celebrate St George’s Day? Is there an equivalent to the Christmas turkey or the Easter lamb? I guess since it’s not celebrated in the same way, there’s no real rule when it comes to the food either."

So, I thought I’d set my own rules. 1. Celebrations call for something sweet. 2. It needs to be a classic English dish. 3. The colours should reflect the day. And what fulfills all of my requirements? An Eton Mess, of course! But not just a messy one! No, it had to be one that would be good looking enough as a centerpiece on your table and fitting for the day. Plus, I’ve added a raspberry coulis to make it a little more special. So, I hope you might like this idea and Happy St George’s Day from a French contributor!

Preheat your oven to 170C (150C fan). Whisk the egg whites until soft peaks are forming. While still whisking, slowly add the caster sugar and whisk until you have stiff peaks. Line a round ovenproof dish with greaseproof paper, add the meringue to the dish and, using a spatula, make an indentation in form of a cross into the meringue. Put into the preheated oven and bake for 1 hour. After the hour is up, turn the oven off and leave the meringue to cool for around 2 hours.

Put the raspberries and the 2 tbsp of icing sugar into a saucepan. On a medium heat warm up the raspberries and stir until all are broken down and the sugar is dissolved. Transfer the raspberries to a food processor and blitz until you have a puree. Now transfer the raspberry puree to a fine sieve over a bowl, push the raspberries through the sieve to obtain a smooth coulis.

Cut the strawberries into small pieces. Whisk the whipping cream until it forms stiff peaks.Carefully take the greaseproof paper off the meringue and put the meringue back into the dish. Now pile the whipping cream onto the four parts of meringue, put the strawberry pieces into the cross section and top with the raspberry coulis.

Once you dish up into individual portions, you’ll have the perfect mess!

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