What a Mess! Eton Mess that is !

Who doesn’t like Eton Mess?, A carefully constructed then deconstructed mess.
According to Wikipedia, it is a traditional English dessert, made with Merinques, Strawberries and whipped cream. It was first mentioned in print in 1893 and is believed to have originated at Eton College, Berkshire, although Lancing College in West Sussex also serve something similar ( surprisingly called Lancing Mess ) and is made with bananas.
It is a surprisingly simple to make and even those of you who think that maybe making meringues, requires a great deal of expertise, time and patience, will be suprised at how easy it is.
Making meringues in the Microwave oven is the way forward, it take just 90seconds to make three of them ! Yes, just 90 seconds., The end result is something that many chefs can only dream of. They are light and fluffy, very breakable, so absolutely suitable for an Eton Mess.
To make these meringues, all you need is 150 grams icing sugar( powdered sugar) and one lightly beaten egg white.
Add the icing sugar to the egg white and mix ( easiest with you hands) until you have a thick stiff mixture. Then take a small amount and roll it until it resembles a ball the size of a golf ball. Place it on a plate, either one which is covered with Rice Paper ( this is edible, but no idea where to buy it these days) or place on a silicone mat. Bake three at a time , in a microwave oven, on high for 90 seconds, and be amazed at your end result.

So all you need to do now, is to whip some cream ( there is a German product from Dr. Oetker called Klop Fix not sure what it contains, but it makes cream stay very stiff once whipped, so useful here) , crush the meringues, add some traditionally strawberries, (but weirdly my French supermarket did not have strawberries, even though it is summer) or raspberries and there you go, an instant dessert!

Alternatively of course the meringues can be sandwiched together with raspberry jam and cream, makes for messy eating of course but who cares! Another instant , well almost instant dessert/ confiture is Microwave Lemon curd. Never made Jam or Lemon curd, then try this. It does not keep for long but makes about three jars, must be kept in the refrigerator until used, but also freezes well!


  1. 1 cup granulated sugar
  2. 3 eggs (yolks and whites)
  3. 1 cup fresh lemon juice (about 4-5 lemons)
  4. zest of 3 lemons
  5. 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted




Remove from the microwave, beat and pour into a sterile jar.

Once the curd has cooled to room temperature, cover it with a lid and store it in the refrigerator for about 3 weeks. The curd will thicken as it cools.

This great for toppings on yoghurt, vanilla ice cream becomes something much more and of course more or less an instant lemon tart when poured into a ready made pastry and topped with some slices of lemon and popped under the grill! Or uses to sandwich two meringues together.

All of this is easy peasy, I think I will get Miss Tess to try it next week when my  now ex Mexicans come to stay!