At our first meal with the tour, we enjoyed a typical English dessert called an Eton Mess. It was comprised of whipped cream, broken meringue cookies, and layers of strawberries. Much to my surprise, when I opened my latest Food Network magazine, they featured a recipe for Eton Mess. My son ordered it, mostly because of the name, and thoroughly enjoyed it.
You can Google a multitude of recipes on-line but the basic premise of the recipe is broken meringue cookies (which you can purchase or bake yourself), slightly sweetened whipped cream (I'll include my relatively fool-proof recipe!), and fresh fruit of your choice but it should be in the strawberry, raspberry, blackberry group. You dig out some tall dessert glasses or just put them in pretty bowls. You layer the ingredients, refrigerate until serving time, and then practice your humble smile at the applause from your family.
When I make whipped cream, I use two cups of heavy cream, four to five tablespoons of granulated sugar, three tablespoons of sour cream, and a touch of vanilla extract. I whip the ingredients until it holds it's shape but BEFORE you get butter. This method keeps the cream from breaking down too quickly in your dessert.
For the fruit, you can slice up strawberries with sugar to taste. A touch of brandy wouldn't hurt! Smash them a bit and let them sit for 30 minutes to release the juice. Even though it isn't mentioned, I'd think you could get away with using fresh peach slices, blueberries, etc. according to what it in season and to your personal tastes.
Meringue cookies are not difficult to make (lots of recipes on-line) but keep your fantastic dessert simple and go with the store bought ones. After all, who will really notice with all the wonderful cream and fruit.
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