Eton mess — most British dessert ever?

***TRADITIONAL RECIPE, SERVES FOUR***

2 egg whites
1 lb (454g) fresh strawberries
1 pint (473mL) cream
1/2 cup (50g) granulated sugar, plus a little more for the cream and berries
starch
vanilla
cream of tartar (can replace with few drops of lemon juice)
salt

The night before, beat the egg whites with a pinch of cream of tartar to stiff peaks, then gradually beat in the sugar until you have a stiff, fluffy meringue. Mix in a tiny pinch of salt and a splash of vanilla.

Line a baking sheet with parchment and deposit the meringue in dollops. Bake at 225ºF/110ºC for about an hour, until the meringues don't look wet on the surface anymore (they should still look shiny). Turn the heat off and let the meringues sit in the oven overnight to dry.

Also ideally the night before, quarter the strawberries and put 2/3 of them in a small pot, along with a big spoon or two of sugar and a small spoon of starch. Heat until the strawberries soften and release enough liquid to dissolve the sugar and gelatinize the starch. If the pan seems too dry and is threatening to burn, splash in some water (or booze).

When the berries are just soft enough to crush, mash them with a potato masher or puree them smooth. Allow to cool fully, and reserve the uncooked berries.

The next day, stir in the raw berries with the chilled cooked berries. Crush the meringues into chunks. Whip the cream, then mix in a splash of vanilla and a little sugar to taste.

Assemble the mess right before you eat, or the meringue will dissolve. I like about two parts whipped cream to one part strawberries and one part meringue by volume, but you do you.

You can either stir all the components together or layer them into a glass, like a parfait. I like to use meringue for the top layer so those pieces stay dry and crunchy.

***CHOCOLATE & BANNA RECIPE, SERVES 4-6***

2 eggs
2-3 bananas
1 pint (473mL) cream
1/2 cup (50g) granulated sugar, plus a little more for the cream
1 cup (237mL) milk
butter
cocoa powder
starch
flour
vanilla
cream of tartar (can replace with few drops of lemon juice)
salt

The night before, separate the eggs and beat the egg whites with a pinch of cream of tartar to stiff peaks, then gradually beat in the sugar until you have a stiff, fluffy meringue. Mix in a tiny pinch of salt, a splash of vanilla, and spoon or two of cocoa powder.

Line a baking sheet with parchment and deposit the meringue in dollops. Bake at 225ºF/110ºC for about an hour, until the meringues don't look wet on the surface anymore (they should still look shiny). Turn the heat off and let the meringues sit in the oven overnight to dry.

Also ideally the night before, put the egg yolks in a small pot with about a tablespoon of starch, a teaspoon of flour, a tiny pinch of salt, a splash of vanilla and just enough of the milk to help you whisk this unto a smooth paste. Whisk in the rest of the milk and bring to a boil, whisking constantly until it is thick and bubbling. Whisk in a couple tablespoons of butter then chill completely. That's pastry cream.

The next day, whip the cream, then mix in a splash of vanilla and a little sugar to taste. Mix the whipped cream with a roughly equal quantity of the pastry cream by volume.

Crumble the meringues into chunks and slice the bananas. Assemble the mess right before you eat, or the meringue will dissolve. For this version I like about three parts creme diplomat (the cream mixture) to one part banana slices and one part meringue by volume, but you do you.

You can either stir all the components together or layer them into a glass, like a parfait. I like to use meringue for the top layer so those pieces stay dry and crunchy.

[ellawalsh]

As a Brit I thoroughly approve of your adaptations, and would also suggest that chopped pistachios can be a lovely addition, giving an extra dimension to the taste, texture and colour

[davidwilson]

I appreciate that Adam doesn't just follow a recipe and then call it a day - he experiments with different preparations, gives a lot of good tips regarding technique, and incorporates food science into even basic cooking. It's a unique blend of elements that you don't often see on cooking channels, and is really interesting to watch.

[shaunmorrison]

It's pretty common here in the UK to find '... Mess', where the pub/restaurant etc has basically used up whatever fruit they have to make a variation on Eton Mess. It's quite easy to make in big batches, the presentation is easy and who doesn't like fruit, cream and meringue?

[jessepinkman]

Entrance hidden by whipped cream and meringue

[GamingWithUncleJon]

Powdered sugar in the US, is a mix of sugar and corn starch. That could be causing the issues you are seeing with the powered sugar meringues. If you want a finer sugar grain you'd want to take the granulated sugar and grind it more, like with a food processor or spice grinder.

[samanthaday]

Adam, I have a very strong appreciation for how you find the unnecessary steps in fussy recipes and simplify it for the everyday home cook. I’m curious to know if any of the steps claimed to be so crucial in croissant making could be eliminated or simplified… would love to see your take!

Unrelated note, I made your deboned turkey for Thanksgiving last year and I don’t ever plan on making it any other way, it was amazing!

[mordekaihorowitz]

Honestly, for me, the takeaway ('lesson', not food) from this vid is that gin and macerated strawberries is probably a delicious summertime combo that I should make asap

[SamUploads]

Love from Britain, where our government is an Eton mess.

[pedrosalvador]

My dad used/uses to make this dessert a lot of times! And I'm Brazilian!

He said that he saw and ate this recipe at a restaurant and started to copying it. We call this dessert "Moranguinho com Suspiro", literally, "Little Strawberries with Sigh" (Sigh being the name for the Meringue Cookies).

[olmsfam]

Powdered sugar where I live always has cornstarch incorporated to reduce caking. That messes with the food chemistry.

[thefenella]

Hello, a Brit here with another interpretation: use brown sugar in the meringues to make them have a chewy, toffee-like texture in the middle. Then whip the cream but don’t make it super sweet. Make a caramel sauce. Dollop the cream, add some slices of banana, crumble the meringue on top, drizzle the caramel, and top it off with crushed-up mcvities digestive biscuits. It’s delicious I promise

[williamzNet]

If your strawberries are not intense enough, try adding a little balsamic vinegar and leaving in the fridge for around 2 hours - sounds odd but really amplifies the flavour...

[KC_Streams]

For the record: the reason it's called public school in the UK is because it's not funded directly by the state, but is rather funded directly by the public (via tuition fees). But it's definitely silly considering that nowadays a service being "public" almost always means state funded and free to the public at the point of access

[SpareMango]

How is it a british dessert if there's no beans?

[CL-brqd]

The first recipe I’ve seen with an additional recipe using the leftover ingredients. Adam you’re seriously stepping up the cooking vid game

[slothape]

I love eton mess, its actually worth making meringues even if you aren't experience because the appearance doesnt matter.

[evan]

I just made an Eton mess on Sunday! It’s my favourite summertime dessert 😋

[BrianLagerstrom]

Amazing vid, and REALLY amazing ad. Literally laughed out loud. U funny Rags

[WillWatches]

I will say, you mentioned how it wasn't Strawberry-y enough, When in season English strawberries are like no other. I've had international friends say they've never had strawberries as good anywhere else

[FaerieDust]

I grew up with something similar in Sweden, but the "standard" version uses banana and adds chocolate sauce, and usually ice cream as well. We don't tend to sweeten whipped cream in Sweden - I personally don't think it needs sweetening, it's usually served with sweet things and used to moderate that sweetness a bit, but that is of course just a matter of preference.