Eton Mess Cake
Eton Mess in cake form is something that's hard to dislike! The sponges are studded with strawberries to bring some moisture to the cake and it has a wonderful airy texture
Add freshly whipped cream, crushed meringues and some jam and you have the utimate dessert. If you want to mix it up a little, use a different flavour jam, or even a different berry in the cake.
Serves
12
Preparation Time
30 minutes
Baking Time
25–30 minutes
Decorating Time
1 hour
Ingredients
- 300g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 300g caster sugar
- 300g self-raising Four
- 6 eggs
- 300g fresh strawberries, chopped
- Decoration
- 450ml double cream
- 75g icing sugar
- 2–4 tbsp strawberry jam
- 6 meringue nests
- 12 fresh strawberries
- 10g freeze-dried strawberries
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180oC/160oC fan and line three 20cm springform cake tins with parchment paper.
2. Add the butter, sugar, #our and eggs to a large bowl and beat until the mixture is smooth. Divide the mixture evenly between the three tins. Lay the strawberries on the tops of the cakes.
3. Put the cakes into the oven and bake for 25–30 minutes. The strawberries create more moisture in the cake batter, so it can sometimes take a little longer to bake. Keep an eye on the sponges – a cocktail stick or skewer inserted into the middle of the cakes should come out clean when the cakes are ready.
4. Leave to cool in the tins for about 30 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool fully.
Decoration
1. In a large bowl, whip the double cream with the icing sugar to form soft peaks.
2. Spread a tablespoon or two of jam onto the first cooled sponge, and crush over some meringue. Spoon over one-third of the whipped cream and spread as evenly as possible. Add the second sponge layer and repeat. Finally, add the third sponge layer and slather on the remaining cream. Add the fresh strawberries, crumble over the remaining crushed meringue, and finish with a sprinkling of freeze-dried strawberries.
