Eton Mess Cake

Eton Mess Cake

Have you ever heard of the Eton College in UK, the famous boarding school for boys? They happen to have invented a dessert, traditionally consisting of strawberries, whipped cream, and broken up meringue. It’s called Eton Mess. It is commonly served during the annual cricket match agains Harrow School. I looked it up, this year they are playing today, June 23rd. Instead of only serving strawberries, whipped cream and broken up meringue, I decided to go with a cake version, hence Eton Mess Cake.

Eton Mess CakeSo for the strawberry part I threw in raspberries and blackberries because I just love all berries and couldn’t go with strawberries only. Whipped cream I didn’t change in any way and then little meringue stars, don’t they look cute? And since it is a cake, it has a super light sponge cake that holds everything together. Because sponge cake is just perfect for a berry cake, in my opinion. It is the same sponge cake recipe as my beloved strawberry roll, if you rather go with a roll than a cake, that check out that recipe.

It looks very impressive, definitely a crowd pleaser, but it is really much easier to put together than you would ever think. Oh, and it is just perfect in summer, so light, so airy, so fresh! I just love it.

Eton Mess CakeSo here we go, Eton Mess Cake, let’s have it a go!

Eton Mess Cake

Serves: One 24 cm ∅ springform
Cooking Time: 1hr preparation + 75 min of baking

Ingredients

  • Sponge Cake
  • 5 eggs, size L at room temperature, important, eggs have to be at room temperature
  • 100 grams of white sugar
  • A pinch of salt
  • 75 grams of all-purpose flour
  • 30 grams of cornstarch

  • Meringue
  • 1 egg white at room temperature
  • 50 grams of white sugar

  • Filling
  • 300 grams/milliliters of heavy cream
  • 50 grams of white sugar
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, see here how to make your own
  • 1 teaspoon of lemon or lime juice
  • About 500-600 grams of strawberries or an assortment of berries

Instructions

1

For the sponge cake preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius and prepare either one or two 24cm/9 inch cake pan(s). Line bottom with parchment paper and grease the sides.

2

Then divide the eggs into egg white and egg yolks. Use a bigger bowl for the egg yolks. If you have a glass or metal bowl, use that one for the egg whites. Be sure that bowl is free of fat/grease and that your mixer was properly cleaned. Now beat the egg yolks with the sugar. Beat until the color becomes much paler and you have a creamy consistency. This usually takes several minutes.

3

Clean your mixer thoroughly and beat the egg whites on medium speed with a pinch of salt until soft peaks form. Beat on high speed until stiff peaks form. Set aside.

4

Gently pour the egg whites on top of the mixed egg yolks and sift the flour, cornstarch and baking powder on top. Don't skip this step. It is important that the flour mix was sifted. Gently mix all ingredients with a wooden spoon. Try to incorperate the flour mix and egg whites without losing volume. Don't overmix.

5

Using a spoon, put batter on the prepared cake pans and immediately bake. Don't let the batter sit for too long as it will quickly lose volume. Bake for 30 minutes if using one springform or 20 minutes if using two. Let cool a little before gently getting them out of the form. Tip: if making the day before, wrap in cling wrap, it is much easier to cut in half once cold.

6

For the meringue beat one egg white until soft peaks form, add pinch of salt and continue beating on high while adding the sugar. Beat for at least three more minutes until glossy and shiny. Pipe small stars or other shapes with the meringue on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Dry for about 45min at 100 degrees Celsius in the oven. Keep in airtight container until further use.

7

For the filling beat heavy cream with sugar, vanilla extract and lemon juice until stiff peaks form, quarter strawberries. Slice cake in four parts, this is much easier done once the cake layers are cold. Pipe on big dots of whipping cream on each layer and place the berries in between (see pictures). Reserve the meringue for the top. Garnish with additional whipping cream and berries to your liking. Serve immediately.

Notes

No idea what to do with the leftover egg yolk? Check out see this blog post including how to freeze them properly.

Eton Mess Cake

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2 Comments

  • Reply
    Megan
    Wednesday January 30th, 2019 at 08:47 PM

    I love when cakes have a lot of fruit in it.

    • Reply
      Jenny
      Wednesday January 30th, 2019 at 09:12 PM

      So do I!

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