Yummy mess

When we brought some of the red currant tart to my mother-in-law, she gave us more berries.  This time, it was some tart black currants.  The berries are bigger than the red ones, almost the size of blueberries but not as sweet.

This time, I knew I was going to use them in a dessert called Eton Mess.  Ever since I saw it made on one of Jamie Oliver's food shows, I've always wanted to make it.  It is a simple dessert using meringue that is crushed and folded into some whipped heavy cream.  I would swirl some black currant sauce into the mixture to make it a lovely balance of sweet and sour, and soft and crunchy.

I made the meringue in the afternoon and left it in the oven to cool and dry out.  I basically whisked some egg whites and sugar until the mixture is stiff and would not fall out of the bowl when it's turned upside down.  Then I dolloped spoonfuls of the mixture on a baking sheet and baked at a low temperature for a whole hour.  Once the hour is up, I turned off the oven and left the meringue in the oven for a few hours.  

It is important to do this if you want crumbly meringue.  If not, you will find that the middle of the meringue might be soft.  This would work if you want to make pavlova, which is essentially the same thing, except you don't crumble up the meringue.  You spoon the whipped cream over the meringue and scatter fresh fruit such as berries, kiwi, mango or passionfruit.

I think the dry air here makes it easy to get the meringue to the right texture.  I find that I don't really have any problems with the storage.  I don't need a proper air tight container to store the meringue.  I guess if the weather is more humid, the meringue might not dry too easily if left out of the oven.  And if you want to store the meringue, you must keep them in containers that would keep air out.

Anyway, later that night, we had a bowl each of this luscious dessert and it was as good as I imagined it to be.  The black and red currant sauce, which is simply a cup of the berries and  some sugar heated up in a pan until the sugar crystals melt and the berries burst, was just a hint of sweet with a distinctive tang of the black currants.  Each spoonful was creamy with a crunch of sweet meringue and then a burst of sour berries that lingers in your mouth.  Yumm.

If you want to try this dessert, you can buy ready made meringue but it really is easy to make your own.  Just make sure that you use a super clean bowl to whisk the egg whites.  It is just as important to make sure there isn't a single speck of yolk so be careful when you are separating the whites.  In place of the black and red currants, you can use a mixture of berries such a strawberries, blue berries and raspberries.  Put everything in a saucepan with a few tablespoons of sugar.  Heat everything up and stir, mashing some berries to release their juices.  Taste the sauce and adjust the amount of sugar.  Once the sugar has melted, let the mixture cool before folding into the whipped cream and crumbled meringue.  This dessert is the best when it's cold and when the weather is hot.

Meringue

3 egg whites

150g caster sugar

Heat the oven to 150C.  Whisk the whites until they are form soft peaks.  Add the sugar, a tablespoon at a time and continue whisking until all of the sugar has been thoroughly whisked in.  Drop tablespoonfuls of the mixture on lined baking trays.  Place the baking tray in the oven on the centre shelf and turn down the heat to 140C.  Bake the meringue for 1 hour and then turn off the oven.  Leave the meringue there until the oven is cold.