Blueberry & Bourbon Eton Mess.

Eaton

Blueberry & Bourbon Eton Mess.

Baking requires an understanding of food science and how it relates to certain baking ingredients under temperature, as well as exact measures and cooking processes. It is these facts that have always steered us away from most forms of baking, preferring instead the flair and versatility of adapting general cooking methods and ingredients to accomplish an individual dish. We admire pastry chefs tremendously we just haven’t got the patience.

So, with that in mind we adapted a NO BAKE desert that is sure to WOW your guests and family alike.

It starts off as an Eton Mess. Eton Mess is a traditional English dessert consisting of a mixture of Strawberries, broken Meringue pieces and whipped Heavy cream. Commonly believed to originate from Eton College UK, and is served at the annual cricket match against the pupils of Harrow School. An Eton mess can be made with many other types of summer fruit, but strawberries are regarded as more traditional. As Blueberries are a great choice at this time of year, we decided to use this fruit and picked up some local little beauties from the Winter Park Farmers Market. We also cheated on the Meringue and bought a couple expertly made by Croissant Gourmet.

You will need for two servings:

2 x cup fresh blueberries

1/4 cup sugar

Juice of half a meyer lemon

8 fl oz. heavy whipping cream

1 x vanilla pod

3 x tbsp. water

1 x shot bourbon

2 x meringue

Method:

For the blueberry compote, place 1 cup of blueberries in a lidded pan with the water, lemon juice and sugar, stir and place on medium heat for about six minutes, lid on. After the berries have begun to break down add the other cup of blueberries and cook lid on for a further 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Adjust the sweetness to taste then place to one side to cool.

Beat the whipping cream in a bowl until you create stiff peaks, slit the vanilla bean down the center lengthways and scrape out the tiny black beans with a knife, add the beans to cream along with the shot of Bourbon and whisk until combined.

Now it’s time to assemble the dessert. On a plate or in a dessert glass, break up the meringue (we made ours in a sandwich style) Apply a thick layer of the cream and then layer on the compote. If using a glass, you may wish to repeat the layering to get the desired effect.

This is so simple to make but tastes divine and we are sure it will become a staple dessert in your family recipes as it is in ours, even if you can’t bake!

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