Eton Mess
A no-cook English summer dessert of strawberries, whipped cream and broken meringue folded together at the last minute.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Total
- 15 min
- Serves
- 4
- Level
- Easy
Ingredients
Tick off what you have ready.
Method
Tap a step when it's done.
The story of this dish
Eton mess takes its name from Eton College, one of England's oldest schools, where it is traditionally served at summer celebrations and at the annual cricket match against Harrow. It appears in print from the late 19th century, and early versions seem to have been simply strawberries or bananas mixed with cream, with meringue added later.
A charming story claims the dish was born when a dog sat on a pavlova at a picnic and the rescued pieces were served in bowls. It is almost certainly a later invention, but it suits a dessert whose name means "mess". Today Eton mess is one of the great symbols of the English summer and the strawberry season.
British Cuisine
Shepherd's Pie
A much-loved British bake of lamb mince in a rich vegetable gravy, topped with buttery mashed potato and baked until golden.
Scones with Clotted Cream and Jam
Classic British scones, lightly crisp outside and soft within, split and piled with clotted cream and strawberry jam.