Saturday 28 May 2011

Eton Mess Cake

It's a bank holiday weekend here in the UK and the weather is dull and grey (which is why my pics aren't so bright) and no sign of the sun coming out, oh well no change there for a bank holiday! I decided to bring some sunshine and flavours of an English summer in of my own with this Eton Mess Cake. This cake is a take on the traditional English dessert Eton Mess which is served at Eton College's annual prize giving celebration picnic every 4th of June. Eton College was founded in 1440 by King Henry IV and has a long list of distinguished pupils, Prime Minister David Cameron and Prince William to name a few.
OK enough history lets talk cake! This cake was straight-forward and simple, providing you prepare the ingredients prior to assembly. The smell of the cake cooking was sumptuous and filled the house with a glorious aroma. My hubby was eager for the cake to finish baking but unfortunately it took 15 min longer than the recipe stated to completely bake in my oven and he had to suffer that wait. The flavours and textures in this cake are absolutely divine and really capture the essence of British summer! Oh and hubby said the wait was well worth it.


Eton Mess Cake

Ingredients
175g unsalted butter
5 tbsp double cream, from a 300ml pot
1 tsp vanilla paste or extract
225g plain flour
100g ground almonds
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp fine salt
200g golden caster sugar
5 large eggs, at room temperature
400g strawberries, half roughly chopped, half finely sliced
4 meringue nests, (50g) very roughly chopped
a little icing sugar, to serve

Grease a deep 20 x 30cm traybake or roasting tin, then line with parchment. Heat the oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Melt the butter, take off the heat and stir in the cream and the vanilla. Mix the flour, almonds, baking powder and 1/4 tsp fine salt and set aside for later.

Put the caster sugar and eggs into a large bowl, and whisk with electric beaters until very thick and foamy, about 5 mins. Pour in the butter mix, whisk briefly, then add the flour mix and whisk briefly again until even. Stir in the chopped strawberries, then pour the batter into the tin and level the top.

Scatter the sliced strawberries and meringue over the cake, then bake for 40-45 mins until risen, golden and a skewer comes out clean. Cool for 20 mins in the tin, then transfer the cake to a rack. Just before serving, dust with a little icing sugar. Enjoy with the rest of the double cream, whipped if you like.

19 comments:

Choclette said...

Oh my Maria, that sounds like one amazing cake. I bet hubby thought it was worth the wait.

Caroline said...

It looks lovely, I think I remember seeing the recipe and wondering what it would be like - is it very sweet with the meringue? Glad your hubby enjoyed it, it certainly looks fab!

Kate@whatkatebaked said...

Absolutely definately, 100% worth the wait! One lucky hubby! That looks so delicious. Did you know, as a little aside, Montezuma chocolate have just started making a special edition Eton Mess bar? I tasted some earlier in their store- lovely!

Heather said...

How fabulous! This is definitely a must try for me. I have heard of Eton Mess as a kind of squishy pudding but this cake is just the thing for tea time.

Anonymous said...

the cake sounds utterly delicious and perfect pick me up for the grey bank holiday weekend!

Ocean Breezes and Country Sneezes said...

Thank you Maria for Following me! You were my 200th Follower!

I've heard so much about the "Eaton Mess Cake" since the Royal wedding, that I feel compelled to make it!

Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe and I hope to see you often at Ocean Breezes and Country Sneezes! Have a wonderful weekend!

Mary

Unknown said...

Your cake looks gorgeous, I made Eton Mess cake fairly recently and it was so delicious. Great summer bake. x

Kim said...

Looks gorgeous, sure I remember seeing this recipe somewhere myself recently. Would be great for me as I always fancy Eton Mess in the summer but I'm not a massive fan of meringue and cream so it's a bit much for me - but this would get me my summer Eton fix without being too much!

Cupcake Crazy Gem said...

Hmm this looks so yummy, I LOVE Eton Mess and had Eton Mess cheesecake recently - it was the best!

Jacqueline Meldrum said...

Brilliant, just brilliant. What a fabulous idea. I really could do with a slice right now.

Anna's kitchen table said...

Maria, it's a yummy looking cake. I remember seeing the recipe somewhere, but can't think where...was it in the Good food mag?

Maria♥ said...

Thanks for the lovely comments!

The recipe was in Good Food's Magazine last month but it's also on their website.

Maria
x

sonia said...

I am a huge anglophile and have always wanted to try this. Thank you for the recipe!!!

Helen said...

Yum, that sounds gorgeous

The Caked Crusader said...

WHat a gorgeous cake - it's the sort of cake where I could sit down and eat the whole thing!

cocoa and coconut said...

Well, what a great idea! I know eton mess (the creamy dessert) existed, but I have never seen a recipe for a cake version. This looks delicious!!

Gloria Baker said...

eey MarĂ­a what wonderful soun and Eton Mess cake! amazing!! gloria

Maggie said...

When I saw this recipe I thought just how fabulous it looked and such a great idea too. You have done the recipe proud Maria.

Reeni said...

So many unique flavors! I'd be impatient too - I love it!