Inspired by Strawberry Fields Forever (cover)| The Beatles

As soon as the sun makes it appearance during winter after a long absence some start getting excited and see spring on the corner. Calm down : we still have to survive through february and march! Nevertheless, I don’t wanna be a party pooper. I just came back from a month in sunny Brasil and all I want to do is skip winter. I’m game to enjoying an illusion of  flowers, smooth breezes and countless and Strawberry Fields. After all we all heard at least once an annoying friend say “winter is psychological” right? Well this is the best moment to try such an hypothesis.

Despite it’s name – coming from the annual cricket match between students of the Eton & Winchester Colleges where this desert was served generously – the Eton Mess recipe is fairly easy and inexpensive to make; the only tricky part would be to find good strawberries this time of the year. Any Monoprix or good grocery should be able to save you.

| Ingrédients pour 6 |

_ 1 packet of Biscuits Roses de Reims

_ fraises

_ 100g of sugar

_ 50g of icing sugar

_ 30cl of whole cream

_ 2 eggs

| Method |

Start by the meringue. Separate the egg whites and whip them with 100g of sugar. If you have an electric mixer yay!, otherwise breathe, build up some courage and go with a hand whisk or a fork (!). Once the egg whites are ready and firm (turn the bowl, carefully, to check : if they don’t move, you are all set) place them on a buttered baking tray and bake it up to 120° (preheated, always) for one hour. Your meringues will be rose/golden, crusty on the outside.

Same thing for the cream. Mix 30cl of cream with 25-50g of icing sugar according to your sweet tooth. Once it get thick, put it aside. 

Now lets assemble the whole thing. Start with some crushed Biscuits Roses de Reims at the bottom, add a layer of cream, some whole or cut strawberries (up to you) and some chunks of meringue to finish. Repeat the operation or rearrange the layering according to your preferences. The goal here is to either have one thick layer of each element or a repetition of all of them until your glass/cup/whatevs is filled. Finish it off with some whole strawberries and some icing sugar.

♫ Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see !