Easy Eton Mess Recipe
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Eton Mess is an easy, no-bake dessert with layers of strawberries, lightly sweetened whipped cream, and crushed meringue cookies. With bright citrusy flavors, it’s a classic British treat that’s deliciously perfect for summer gatherings.
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Just like our always popular Easy No-Bake Cheesecake or No-Bake Chocolate Pie (3 Ingredients), this Strawberry Eton Mess is a quick and easy no-bake dessert perfect for the warm days of summer!
What is a Strawberry Eton Mess Recipe?
Eton Mess is a popular summer dessert filled with the flavors of the season. It’s an easy, no bake treat you can whip up in 15 minutes or less with no chilling needed.
It’s delicious, makes a beautiful presentation, and is easy to scale up or down depending on your gathering. Serve in small ramekins for smaller portions or scale up to larger glasses for a treat you won’t soon forget.
Eton Mess Ingredients
You can use either store-bought meringue cookies for the easiest version, or if you’re in the mood, homemade meringue cookies are simple to make, too.
Trader Joe’s Meringue Cookies at Amazon are delicious and convenient, but your local markets or bakeries should also carry them.
- Meringue cookies—You’ll need about 10 to 12 cookies that are about 1-2 inches wide. Vanilla meringues are traditional, but lemon meringues are delicious, too!
- Strawberries—Look for fresh, sweet strawberries. They will be chopped and pureed to create a chunky, saucy consistency.
- Lemon—We’re adding fresh lemon juice and zest to give the strawberry layer a hint of citrusy flavor.
- Powdered Sugar – For a lightly sweet whipping cream layer that blends deliciously with the strawberries.
- Heavy whipping cream—Be sure to use cold, heavy cream, as it has a higher fat content and is easier to beat into whipped cream. In a pinch, you could substitute ready-made whipped topping.
How to Make Eton Mess
- Crush the Meringue: Add the Meringue cookies to a zip–lock bag, crush them into coarse crumbles, and set aside.
- Make Strawberry Topping – In a blender, puree 1/3 of the strawberries into a sauce. Add the remaining chopped strawberries, lemon zest, and juice in a medium bowl. Depending on the sweetness of the berries, sweeten them to taste with granulated sugar if needed. Then add 3/4 of the crushed meringues along with the pureed berries and combine.
- Beat Whipped Cream – Beat cold heavy cream and 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar with a stand mixer or electric mixer for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the cream has stiff peaks but is still spreadable.
How to Assemble an Eton Mess
Add your ingredients to clear drinking glasses, sorbet cups, or your serving dish of choice. Spoon some cream into the bottom, top with a heaping spoonful of the strawberry mixture, add crumbled meringue and repeat with cream, fruit, and meringue to fill the cup. Serve right away or cover and refrigerate for up to 3 hours.
Make-Ahead
This no-bake dessert can be made up to a day ahead of serving. It’s best to prep the ingredients ahead and assemble just before serving. Cover and refrigerate the strawberries and whipped cream separately, the crushed meringues can be stored at room temperature. Eton Mess dessert is not freezer friendly.
Origins of Eton Mess
Just in case you’re curious or love food history, here are a couple of conflicting tidbits explaining the name and origins of Eton Mess. Both stories tie to Eton, a wealthy boys’ school in the United Kingdom founded in 1140.
From The Daily Mail:
Official Story: During a cricket match between Eton and Harrow, the story is told, just before serving, a dog knocked over a pavlova, creating a mess of ingredients. Instead of going to waste, the delicious ingredients were reconfigured and served anyway… creating a “mess” that became a beloved classic dessert still served at cricket matches today.
First Mention: “The first recorded instance of Eton mess comes from a royal gathering in 1893, when historian Arthur Beavan reported it was served to Queen Victoria at an event celebrating the upcoming wedding of her grandson Prince George. Beavan referred to it as ‘Eton Mess aux Fraises.'”
More Easy No-Bake Dessert Recipes
If you love this Strawberry Eton Mess and are looking for more easy, no-bake desserts, you can find some recipes to try here.
- Strawberry No Bake Mini Cheesecakes
- 10 Minute No Bake Lemon Pie
- No Bake Icebox Cake with Summer Berries
- Red, White, and Blue Berry Parfait
- No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars
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Easy Strawberry Eton Mess Recipe
Ingredients
- 10-12 meringue cookies about 1 ½-2” wide
- 1 pound fresh strawberries hulled and roughly chopped, divided
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar or to taste
- 1 ½ cups cold heavy whipping cream
Instructions
Crush the Meringue Cookies
- Add your meringue cookies (homemade or store-bought) into a zip-lock bag and crush them into course crumbles.
Strawberries
- In a blender, puree 1/3 of the strawberries into a sauce. Add the remaining chopped strawberries, lemon zest, and juice in a medium bowl. Depending on the sweetness of the berries, sweeten them to taste with granulated sugar if needed.
- Combine the strawberry sauce, sweetened chopped strawberries, and 3/4 of the crushed meringue cookies. Stir together.
Whip the Cream
- Add cold heavy cream and 1-2 tablespoons of powdered sugar to the bowl of your stand mixer or an electric mixer. Beat on medium/high speed with the whisk attachment until whipped and spreadable, about 3-4 minutes.
Assemble the Eton Mess
- Layer the whipped cream and berries into clear glasses, beginning and ending with a whipped cream layer. Top each serving with remaining crushed meringues.
Notes
- Meringue Cookies: You can easily make meringues from scratch or buy ready-made cookies from Amazon or your local bakery. While vanilla meringues are traditional, I love to substitute Lemon Meringues. Use your favorite!
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Fresh, tasty, and easy!