Eton Mess – National Strawberries and Cream Day

Happy Strawberries and Cream Day! Woot, woot!

You know I love my random food holidays {Missed any of my previous food holiday posts? Check ’em out: Pretzel Toffee Marshmallow Treats for National Pretzel Day; Brown Sugar Penuche Fudge for, well, National Penuche Fudge Day; and 50 Amazing Super Bowl Dip Recipes for National Corn Chip Day.}.

I have to say though, I was extra excited about this one, because I absolutely love strawberries. And I was even more excited when I was watching The Kitchen last weekend, and Katie Lee made something called Strawberry Fool. First of all, crazy fun name. Second, this recipe consisted of strawberries and fresh, sweetened whipped cream. That’s it.

I mean, who doesn’t love strawberries? Ok, I can answer that: Mason. He’s a freak of nature. But when we made this strawberry fool last weekend, even he housed two full bowls of it and asked for more.

When she was making it on the show, Katie mentioned that there is another, similar dessert called Eton Mess that includes chopped-up pieces of meringue. 

We thought that would be incredible, because while the strawberry fool was amazing, it did lack a bit of texture. {We watch too much Chopped in this house.}

Oh, and it was incredible. The meringues gave it an extra little sweet crunch, but it was still super light and fluffy and delicious. And ridiculously easy, which is always a bonus.

Plus, because it involves no cooking or baking of any kind, it’s a perfect dessert for summer — no heating up your kitchen! 

Eton Mess

Jennifer Young

A light, fluffy dessert consisting of strawberries, whipped cream and vanilla meringues.

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Prep Time 15 mins

Total Time 1 hr 15 mins

Ingredients

  

• 2 cups sliced strawberries
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste {or vanilla extract}
• 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped vanilla meringue cookies

Instructions

 

• 1. In a blender, combine strawberries and sugar {reserving a few strawberry slices for garnish, if desired} until completely pureed. Strain through a mesh sieve, using a spoon or silicone spatula to push mixture through. Discard seeds.
• 2. With an electric mixer, beat heavy whipping cream and vanilla bean paste until the mixture forms stiff peaks.
• 3. Take a large spoonful of the whipped cream and mix it into the strawberry puree to lighten it. Gradually fold the strawberries into the whipped cream. {You want your final mixture to be a pudding-like consistency, so you may not use all of the strawberries.} At this point, you may refrigerate for 1-4 hours, if desired.
• 4. Just before serving, mix meringue cookies into strawberry and cream mixture. Garnish with reserved strawberries and extra meringues, if desired.

Notes

Adapted from The Kitchen