Half the strawberries roasted to a jammy syrup, half left raw and cold, folded through crushed meringue and loosely whipped cream. Naturally gluten free.
Prep
20 mins
Cook
25 mins
Servings
6
Per serving
£1.20
Difficulty
easy
Eton mess made only with raw strawberries can be watery and one-note. Roasting half of them with a little sugar and a spoon of balsamic concentrates them into something almost like a sauce, which ripples through the cream, while the raw half keeps the freshness and bite. Fold at the last possible moment.
Make the meringues first: whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks, then add the caster sugar a tablespoon at a time, whisking hard between additions, until the mixture is thick, glossy and no longer feels grainy rubbed between your fingers.
The grit test is the only reliable one. Undissolved sugar weeps out as syrup during baking.
Spoon into rough mounds on a lined tray and bake at 100C fan for 1 hour 15 minutes, then turn the oven off and leave them inside to cool completely. They should lift off the paper cleanly and sound hollow.
Toss half the strawberries with the golden caster sugar and vinegar in a small roasting tin and roast at 180C fan for 20-25 minutes, until slumped and surrounded by dark red syrup. Cool completely, then chill.
The vinegar sounds odd and tastes essential — it stops the roasted fruit being cloying.
Chop the remaining raw strawberries and toss them with the lemon juice. Keep them cold and separate until the moment of assembly.
Whip the cream with the vanilla to soft, floppy peaks — stop while it still slumps off the whisk. Overwhipped cream turns grainy the moment you fold anything into it.
Crush the meringues into uneven pieces, some rubble and some chunks. Fold everything together in three or four turns only, so you keep ribbons of roasted syrup rather than pink cream. Spoon into glasses, top with the mint if using, and serve straight away.
Assemble within ten minutes of eating. Left to stand, the meringue dissolves and the whole thing goes soupy.