Eton Mess – Invented by a Labrador?

A little while ago when I was blogging about the origins of some of the events in the London Season (part 2 of this series will follow soon) a commenter asked if the famous recipe Eton Mess was associated with the Eton School 4th June celebrations. The history of Eton Mess is very interesting and has lots of legends associated with it. One story suggests that it is the dessert traditionally served at the Eton versus Winchester cricket match, the first of which took place in 1796.  Another story – my favourite – is that the dish was created one Eton Open Day when an over-eager Labrador dog sat on someone's picnic and squashed the strawberry pavlova! I love this idea but apparently it isn't true. There are, however, records of the dessert being served in the 19th century and by the 1930s it was on sale in the Eton Tuck Shop (or Sock Shop as they call it there) as a sweet made of strawberries or bananas with ice cream or cream.

Whatever the origin of the dessert, it is truly delicious. Here is the recipe:

First, make your meringues, or if you want to save time and effort, buy the meringues ready made. If you are making them, measure out 6 oz caster sugar. Separate out the whites from three large eggs and place them in a clean bowl. Whisk until they form soft peaks. Next, add the caster sugar a tablespoon at a time and continue to whisk until each tablespoon of sugar has been completely mixed in.

Heat the oven to gas mark 1, 275°F, 140°C.  Take dessertspoonfuls of the mixture and place them in rows on a lined baking tray. Place the baking tray on the centre shelf of the oven and leave the meringues there for one hour. After one hour, turn the oven off but leave the meringues there to cool and dry overnight, or until the oven is completely cold.

To make the pudding, chop half  a pound of strawberries and place them in a blender together with a tablespoon of icing sugar. Whizz the whole lot up to a puree and then pass it through a sieve to remove the seeds.

Chop another half pound of strawberries and whip up a pint of double cream.  When you are ready to serve, break up the meringues into  1 inch (2.5 cm) pieces (or get a labrador to sit on them), place them in a large mixing bowl, add the chopped strawberries then fold the cream in and gently mix it all up together. Finally, fold in all but about 2 tablespoons of the purée to give a marbled effect. Place the dessert in a serving dish, spoon the rest of the purée over the surface and serve as soon as possible.

You can use whatever fruit you like for an Eton Mess – blueberries, raspberries – and add a dash of port or ginger cordial or some other liquid. The choice is yours to capture the essence of summer!

©2012 Nicola Cornick. All Rights Reserved.

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