Those Cakes We Like ... Are Getting Messy This Summer
I could have made a joke about horns, but I do have some restraint.
It’s good to be back on my feet again following my fall down the stairs and the resulting injury to my ankle. I’m not yet fully recovered, I still need to wear a support boot for another four weeks and I’m awaiting my first physiotherapy appointment. In the meantime, I’m able to spend a limited amount of time standing in the kitchen, which allows for a partial return to baking. The limits to my ability to stand for prolonged periods have presented the perfect opportunity to provide you all with a couple of simple, speedy recipes which are great for enjoying during the hot months of summer. Think strawberries and cream, with the sweet crunch of meringue, or as the filling for cones of flaky puff pastry. These recipes make extensive use of shortcuts to reduce the effort required on your part, but the results are guaranteed to impress anyone you serve them to. Read on for recipes for Cream Horns and a very British dessert, Eton Mess. These are both classic summer treats over here in the UK, and I hope you will love them as much as I do.
A Little Slice Of History
The origin of Eaton Mess is a tangled web of myth and fact, but what is known for certain is that it is a fairly new creation, first appearing in the 1930s. Eton Mess was first created at Eton College, the prestigious private school which boasts such illustrious former students as most of the male members of the British Royal Family, George Orwell, Hugh Laurie, Tom Hiddleston, Ian Fleming, and former Prime Ministers Boris Johnson and David Cameron. I can almost forgive them for the latter two of these alumni in light of how much joy Eton Mess brings me.
My favourite story concerning the origin of Eton Mess is that it was created by accident as a result of the antics of a labrador retriever who sat on a picnic basket containing a raspberry pavlova at a school cricket match. Legend tells us that after the cricket match had ended and the crushed dessert was discovered, the hungry boys decided that they didn’t care that the dog had ruined dessert and ate it anyway. After which they declared that they preferred the crushed and mangled version over the original pavlova and requested it be added to the school’s regular menu.
Sadly, the picnic story is a complete fabrication and Eton Mess was first created in the kitchens of Eton College by one of the cooks, although another legend tells that this was a result of said cook dropping a raspberry pavlova and deciding they couldn’t be bothered to make a new one and would just serve what remained of the one they dropped. This story cannot be confirmed either, however what is certain is that Eton Mess has been a fixture of the summer menu at the prestigious school ever since its creation.
These days, strawberries tend to be the favoured fruit for inclusion in an Eaton Mess, but any summer berry is acceptable. Regardless of the fruit used, an Eton Mess must always contain whipped cream, and broken pieces of meringue. It is a favourite method for using up leftover meringue (store bought or homemade is fine) and berries in kitchens all over the UK. If you plan to make your own meringue, you’ll have to start early, as it will require at least 3 hours to bake and then needs to cool completely before serving. You may be better making the meringue the day before you intend to serve it.
Recipe 1: Eton Mess
For those of us who are pancreatically challenged, the carbohydrate count for this recipe will vary depending on the fruit used. For the meringue, the carbohydrates are 200g for the entire meringue, or 25g per portion when serving 8 people. A serving of whipped cream and 3 strawberries will add around 3g of carbohydrates to this total.
Your Equipment
Stand mixer with whisk attachment, or an electric hand whisk and mixing bowl
Deep sided baking tray
Baking parchment
Your Ingredients
4 egg whites
200 g sugar (superfine / caster sugar is best, but regular sugar will work)
Approximately 24 strawberries, or 3 per person (or summer berries of your choice)
300 ml heavy cream
The Important Bit
The first thing to do is make your meringue. Ideally, this should be done the day before you intend to serve your Eton Mess, as it requires a long baking time.
Start by preheating your oven to 210 F / 100C.
Using your stand mixer, whip the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. They are done when you can hold the bowl upside down over your spouse, friend or child’s head and they do not have to go and wash their hair.
Take the sugar and add it to the egg whites 1 spoonful at a time, whilst whisking continuously. The resulting mixture should be thick and glossy. If you wish to be a little bit more creative, you could add a little food colouring gel to your meringues at this stage – just whisk a little bit into the meringue mixture.
Line your deep sided baking tray with baking parchment and spread your meringue across the baking parchment in a layer that is around 0.5 inches thick.
Place the meringue into the oven and leave to bake for 3.5 hours.
Remove the meringue from the oven and allow to cool completely before breaking it into pieces and storing in an airtight container until it is needed.
When you are ready to serve your Eton Mess, whip the heavy cream until it forms stiff peaks, then slice your strawberries.
Place the meringue and strawberries into serving bowls, add the whipped cream, and give it a gentle mix to combine the different elements.
Enjoy.
Recipe 2: Cream Horns
A delicious, summertime treat made with puff pastry, strawberry jam (not the smooth kind) and whipped cream. If you’re feeling fancy, consider topping it with a chocolate dipped strawberry. You can buy the puff pastry from the grocery store, I won’t tell a soul. You could even use store bought jam if you don’t want to try making your own.
For my fellow members of the Dead Pancreas Society, this recipe makes 10 Cream Horns with a total of 33g of carbohydrates per portion.
Your Equipment
Stand Mixer with whisk attachment, or electric hand whisk and mixing bowl
Sharp knife
Baking tray
Baking parchment
Pastry brush
Aluminum foil / Tin foil
Bain Marie (or a heat proof bowl, wire rack and a pan of simmering water) / Microwave and microwave safe bowl
Piping bag and piping nozzle (star shaped is perfect)
Your Ingredients
A little cooking oil or spray oil
300g ready rolled puff pastry
1 egg, beaten
3 tbsp brown sugar
300 ml heavy whipping cream
300g strawberry jam
10 strawberries
50g dark chocolate
The Important Bit
Preheat your oven to 420F / 200C. Line your baking tray with baking parchment.
Use your aluminum foil / tin foil to make 10 cones, each roughly 4 inches (10cm) tall. The easiest way to do this is by crumpling up the foil and fashioning a cone shape out of it. Then coat this foil cone with another piece of aluminum foil so that it has a smooth surface. Lightly coat the cones with oil and set aside while you prepare your pastry.
Cut your pastry into 10 equally sized ribbons along the longest side, each ribbon should be a little under an inch wide. Wrap each ribbon of pastry around one of your foil cones , starting from the thick end of the cone and working your way towards the tip. The pastry should just overlap itself as you wrap it around the cone.
Place the wrapped cone on its side on the baking tray. Repeat until you have used all of your pastry ribbons.
Brush each pastry cone with a little of the beaten egg and sprinkle lightly with the brown sugar.
Bake the pastry cones in the oven for 12 -15 minutes, or until the pastry cones are golden brown. You may need to bake the cones in 2 batches, depending on the size of your baking tray.
Remove the cones from the oven and allow to cool completely before gently removing the foil cone from inside the pastry cone, it should slide off fairly easily when gently wiggled.
Melt your dark chocolate in a bain marie, or by microwaving on medium-low in 30 second bursts, stirring after each burst, until the chocolate is fully melted. Dip each strawberry in the chocolate and shake off the excess chocolate. Put aside to allow the chocolate to set.
Using the stand mixer, whip the cream until it forms stiff peaks. You could add a little confectioner’s sugar and vanilla essence to the cream to make Chantilly cream if you wish. Fill a piping bag with the whipped cream.
Place a generous tbsp (30g) of strawberry jam inside each pastry cone, then pipe in the cream.
Top each Cream Horn with a chocolate dipped strawberry. Serve to anyone you wish to impress.
Join me next month for a trip back in time as I bake a truly Royal dessert — the Queen of Puddings.
Until then ...
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