Buy Now → Eton Mess with Mixed Berries
A Coronation-inspired Eton mess recipe comprised of a mixed berry compote, fresh strawberries, and chocolate meringue, with layers of fluffy orange-vanilla whipped cream in between.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cooling Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 4 hours
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven + Stovetop
- Cuisine: Custards and Puddings
Ingredients
Meringue:
2 large egg whites (about 90 grams), at room temperature
100 grams (1/2 cup) caster sugar
7 grams (1 tablespoon) unsweetened cocoa powder
35 grams (1/4 cup) finely chopped dark chocolate
Mixed berry compote:
100 grams (1 cup) blackberries
100 grams (1 cup) blueberries
1 tablespoon caster sugar
15 grams (1 tablespoon) orange juice
Orange-vanilla whipped cream:
275 milliliters (1 1/4 cups) cold whipping cream
15 grams (1 tablespoon) confectioner’s sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
15 grams (1 tablespoon) finely zested orange zest
Assembly:
150 grams (1 1/2 cups) diced strawberries
To garnish:
Extra berries, chopped dark chocolate, mint leaves, meringue pieces, orange zest
Instructions
Preheat oven to 110° C / 230° F.
Line a baking tray with parchment or a silicone baking mat. Fit a piping bag with a star* piping tip, and set aside until ready to use.
Add egg whites to a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Whip to soft peaks.
Gradually add sugar, continuing to whip on medium-high speed until the mixture is thick and glossy, and stiff peaks form.
With a rubber spatula, gently fold in cocoa powder, followed by chopped dark chocolate.
Transfer meringue mixture to piping bag fitted with star tip.
Pipe onto prepared tray. (I piped 1.5-inch cookies, and ended up with about 35 pieces. However, feel free to pipe the meringues in any size and shape you wish.)
Bake in preheated oven for one hour. Without opening the door, turn off the oven and allow cookies to cool in oven for 1 – 1.5 hours.
While meringues are cooling, prepare the berry compote:
In a saucepan, combine blackberries, blueberries, and sugar.
Simmer mixture over medium heat until berries begin to break down and mixture thickens slightly, about 10 – 12 minutes. (You should still be able to see some chunks or pieces of berry; do not cook so long that the mixture dissolves into liquid.) Remove saucepan from heat and stir in orange juice.
Transfer compote to a bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
Just before serving, prepare the orange-vanilla whipped cream:
In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, add chilled whipping cream. Whip on medium-high speed until soft peaks form.
Whip in icing sugar, followed by vanilla bean paste and orange zest. Taste and adjust, adding more orange, vanilla, or sugar** if desired.
Assembly:
Spoon mixed berry compote into the bottom of four glasses, dividing the mixture equally between the four.
Spoon half of the whipped cream over top of the compote, dividing equally between the four. Reserve remaining whipped cream for the tops of the parfaits.
Break meringue cookies into pieces, reserving a few whole cookies for the garnish. Add a generous layer of meringue on top of the whipped cream, dividing equally between the four.
Spoon diced strawberries over top of the meringue, dividing equally between the four.
Top strawberries with remaining whipped cream, dividing equally between the four.***
Garnish parfaits as desired, using extra berries, reserved meringues, mint leaves, chopped dark chocolate, or orange zest.
Serve immediately.
Notes
*You can use any type of piping tip to pipe the meringue. Instead of piping, you can also spoon dollops of meringue onto the parchment-lined tray instead.
**Do not add too much sugar or make the whipped cream overly sweet, as the meringue adds a lot of sweetness to the dish.
***I chose to spoon the whipped cream on the tops of the parfaits. If desired, you can pipe it instead.