I have been wanting to post Eton Mess for a long time. So when I was approached by Marissa Hermer (Ladies of London), and asked if I’d be willing to try out one of her recipes from her new book, An American Girl in London, I was excited to find Eton Mess in the “pudding”, (dessert) section. It took me about 20 seconds to know that was the recipe I wanted to try! (affiliate link)
Eton Mess, a lovely light dessert, that will have you dreaming of tea with the Queen!
Disclaimer: I was given a copy of Marissa’s book to keep and review, as well as another copy to give away to one lucky reader! As always, my opinions are my own, and I was not under any obligation to right a favorable review.
One lucky winner will receive a copy of this beautiful book!
I don’t know about you, but even though I have a kindle, there’s something really special about a beautiful book. I was intrigued by the title, because I was once An American Girl in London too! Marissa is a California girl who now lives in London with her restaurateur husband and three children. When I received the book in the mail, it took just a couple of minutes to thumb through the pages, for me to get excited, because I knew I was going to like it. But I was in the middle of a project, and couldn’t get to it right away. When I finally was able to sit down a couple of hours later (with a cup of tea of course), I didn’t get up again for another hour. Seriously. And if you know me, I save my reading for bed time. 
So many things to love about this book. First of all, the pictures are gorgeous. I don’t know about you, but I don’t just want a cookbook for recipes, I actually love the stories that accompany recipes, and beautiful photos are a must! Marissa’s book ticked all the boxes for me! I also love that she has taken traditional British recipes, and given them a California spin, her take on English classics. Of course you’ll find lots of traditional recipes too. (Her mother-in-law’s cucumber and smoked salmon sandwiches are next on my list!) 
The recipes are easy to follow, and each one comes with a bit of a story about how she came up with the recipe, and what her changes are. For example, her Shepherd’s Pie recipe is topped with sweet potato mash for a healthier version of a classic recipe. She also accurately notes that Shepherd’s Pie is traditionally made with ground lamb and not beef! This attention to detail is nice. It doesn’t hurt that she’s cute as a button either!
Ok, so the best part, is Marissa is going to send one lucky reader a copy of An American Girl in London! This would be a fabulous gift for Mother’s Day too! Now on to the Eton Mess. I love how it got its name, since I actually went to an Eton-Harrow cricket match when I lived there. Apparently at the annual match, the beautiful meringue dessert was dropped. (Probably after one too many Pimm’s Cups!) The dessert was salvaged with whipped cream and berries. It’s a great story, and I love Marissa’s take on it! Meringues were the very first thing I remember making when I was a young teenager. Just egg whites and sugar, what could be easier? 
Her recipe uses Greek yogurt to lighten the whipped cream, which at first I was a bit skeptical of, but I really loved the tang the yogurt gave to the whipped cream. Tip: use real Greek yogurt, as it’s definitely thicker and tastier than regular yogurt. The recipe also calls for rose water, which is totally optional, but gives it a nice light floral undertone. I just happened to have both rose water and rose petals from my mom’s Rose Shortbread, so I was able to follow the recipe exactly. (Because there’s nothing more annoying than someone writing a cookbook review, saying they made a few changes and then writing that the recipe didn’t turn out!) I digress. Eton Mess is meringues, fresh berries and whipped cream. That’s it. So easy, yet so light and pretty, even if the word “mess” is in the name!
Add Eton Mess to a dessert bar. Put out meringues, whipped cream and fresh berries and let guests make their own “Mess”!
While I was assembling all the ingredients, I thought you could even put out all the ingredients separately, and have a variety of fresh berries, then everyone could make their own “pudding”. This would be a great shower or Mother’s Day dessert idea. If you really don’t feel like up to making meringues, purchase store or bakery meringues. I took the opportunity to pull out Spencer’s grandmother’s Limoges china, which never gets used. (It’s a little too girly for my taste). Her set just happened to have fruit bowls, so why not? You could also use champagne glasses or small ramekins.
- One batch meringues (see recipe below)
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped (or ½ teaspoon vanilla extract)
- 1 teaspoon rose water (optional)
- ¼ cup icing sugar, sifted (powdered sugar)
- 2 cups strawberries
- 2 Tablespoons freeze-dried strawberries for garnish (optional)
- 1 Tablespoon rose petals, chopped for garnish (optional)
- Mint leaves for garnish
- In a large bowl, whisk the cream until thickened.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the yogurt until smooth, then fold through the whipped cream, vanilla bean seeds (or extract), rose water (optional) and icing (powdered sugar).
- Roughly chop the strawberries, reserving a few for garnish.
- To assemble, roughly break up the meringues. Begin by layering the cream, berries, and meringue in bowls or glasses. Repeat the layering, then garnish with strawberries, freeze-dried berries (if using) and rose petals (if using), and mint.
Now on to the meringues. These Strawberry Meringues have a bit of strawberry jam and food coloring. If you don’t like using artificial dyes, I’ve found food coloring that is made from natural ingredients you can find it here. (affiliate link for your convenience) After you’ve whipped the whites to a stiff peaks, you’ll remove about a quarter of the meringue and fold in the strawberry jam and coloring. Then you’ll fold the strawberry meringue back into the rest of the meringue.
I found that I had a lot more meringue left over, so I piped out small rosettes for garnish.
Rosettes with leftover meringue.
- 3 large egg whites, at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 Tablespoon strawberry jam
- 4 drops red food coloring
- Preheat the oven to 225 degrees F.
- Line 2 baking trays with parchment paper. Place the egg white into the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk on medium speed until soft peaks begin to form, about 2 minutes. Gradually add the granulated sugar, 1 Tablespoon at a time, and the cream of tartar. Whip until the mixture has stiff peaks and is glossy and smooth, about 5 minutes.
- Place the strawberry jam and food coloring in a large bowl and stir thorough one-quarter of the meringue mixture. Fold the pink meringue through the remaining meringue.
- Using 2 Tablespoons, place six to eight ½ cup scoops of meringue onto the parchment paper, swirling it around with the spatula until you have a peaked meringue. Bake for 2 hours, or until the meringues are dry and crisp. Turn off the oven and leave the meringues to cool in the oven.
The meringues will be broken up, so they are quite large, and don’t need to be perfect.
Large meringues. Don’t worry about how they look, they will be broken up into pieces.
I think you’ll love Eton Mess and the recipes in An American Girl in London. If you’d like to win a copy of Marissa’s book, enter below. It would make a great Mother’s Day gift too!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Some of the items I used for this post. (This is an affiliate link of which I make a small percentage, at no additional cost to you which helps off-set the cost of running this site. Thank you!)
Julie says
I love the idea of additions of jam and rose water. Traditional eton mess is fabulous, but I think these twists will make it even more special.
I would love to give a copy of this book to my best friend. We had a lovely trip to London 3 years ago and I think it would bring back wonderful memories. We love spending weekends cooking together.
Cynthia says
Yes, the little twist of the strawberry jam and rose water gave it a nice flavor. I love London too! Good luck!
Jonneyjessie says
We tried it. What a lovely dessert! It’s a keeper. I am going to experiment with different flavored meringues, like pistachio or cappuccino!
Cynthia says
Those flavors sound really good too!
Angela says
Looks beautiful…. and delicious.
Cynthia says
It is beautiful considering it’s called “mess”!
Meredith Brooks says
My amazing mom!
Cynthia says
Good luck Meredith!
Christina | Christina's Cucina says
Eton Mess is one of my favorite desserts and so simple, it’s silly! I LOVE Greek yoghurt with cream in a dessert. This would taste similar to another frozen strawberry dessert I make and everyone flips for. I hope readers try this recipe for Eton Mess as I know it will become a staple in their summer menus!
Cynthia says
We had it again last night for dessert since I had leftover cream, meringues and berries!
Charlie says
This book looks great!
I am British by descent and at heart and love anything to with England.
I don’t know anyone that has a love of Britain and cooking the way I do. I’m the odd duck.
So I guess I’ll just keep it for myself and share the bounty from it.
Cynthia says
British cooking is really underrated, Charlie, right? Good luck! It’s a lovely book.
Charlie Ralph says
Totally under rated!
Debbie says
What a stunning book! And a beautifully delicious looking recipe! Perfect for a celebration!
Cynthia says
It truly is! Good luck!
Katie Gard says
This looks amazing! I’m super intrigued by this book, too. I have a strange addiction to expat cookbooks. 🙂
Cynthia says
I love reading cookbooks for fun! (and the recipes too!)
Lyn Mackay says
Honestly, I’d love this book for myself for Mother’s Day 🙂
Cynthia says
Why not? Right? Good luck!
Olga says
This is perfect for Mother’s Day gift.
Cynthia says
it really is Olga! good luck!
Mimi says
Beautiful for a “mess!” This would be a great idea for a dessert buffet!
Cynthia says
Yes it would Mimi!
Jessica @ A Kitchen Addiction says
What a beautiful dessert! Love the strawberry meringues!
Cynthia says
They were delicious!
Jayne Kelsall says
I would love to give tis to my step mum, she does a lot of the family baking and cooking and would love it .x
Cynthia says
It’s a lovely book Jayne! Good luck!
Andi says
This looks light and delicious and so pretty!
Cynthia says
Thank you Andi! It’s a lovely dessert!
Lauren says
Those look too pretty to eat! I am so terrible in the kitchen, I can barely manage take and bake cookies 🙁
Cathleen @ A Taste of Madness says
This looks so good!! I was looking for a light and fruity dessert today, but couldn’t think about what to make. You seemed to nail it!
Bird says
Love how gorgeous it looks too! 🙂
Thanks so much for linking up to our Sunday LINK PARTY at Bird’s Party Blog!!
Your gorgeous party is being featured this Sunday!! Don’t forget to stop by and link up some more fun party posts ♥
Cynthia says
Thank you!