Duke of York's (Eton) Mess

I attended a public school called the Duke of York's Royal Military School for a while, back in the 90s. Recently, the Duke's came third from bottom of the school league tables with an average pass rate substantially lower than that of the average state school.

Ahem. So, here's the public schoolboy dessert from a graduate of school whose pupils are very unlikely to ever threaten the global financial order.

Duke of York's Mess




Preparation time: less than 15 mins
Cooking time: As quickly as you can tip it into the glasses.
Serves 6


Ingredients

A big bag of pre-made meringue nests - at least 10 individual nests.
Pint double cream
Vanilla essence
2 heaped tablespoons caster sugar
Punnet of strawberries, sliced
Punnet of Raspberries
1 teaspoon good-quality balsamic vinegar
A half glass of port
Fresh mint leaves

This is a cheating version, but a.) cheating is all part of the public school ethos and b.) this is a super quick dessert

Whip the double cream with the vanilla and 1 tablespoon of your sugar until you have soft peaks. Don’t over-whip it or the cream will go thick and cloddy – you want it to stay light and delicate.

Take half the strawberries and half the raspberries and put them into a bowl with the rest of the sugar and the balsamic vinegar & port. Mash up with a fork.

Serve Eton mess in individual glasses. To assemble it, first, smash up your meringues. I find putting them into a bag and swinging it into a wall a few time produces a nice and suitably random mix, with some shattered to dust, and some almost whole and crispy.

Make SURE you hide the evidence of the pre-bought meringues - real public school guests/girlfriends will look down on you for not having your butler make your own meringues. On an aga.

Fold the vanilla cream and mushed-up fruit together till well mixed, then sprinkle in the rest of the fruit and fold again. Layer your crushed meringues and fruity cream into your serving dish or glasses, then sprinkle with the mint leaves as garnish.

Put everything together right at the last minute so that the meringue won’t go all soft.

Serve while commenting on an article you just read in the Economist on why poor people are poor because they don't work hard enough in Chinese slave-mills.