Strawberry Cheesecake Eton Mess Food

ETON MESS

Steps:

• Hull and chop the strawberries and put into a bowl and add the sugar and pomegranate juice and leave to macerate while you whip the cream.
• Whip the cream in a large bowl until thick but still soft. Roughly crumble in 4 of the meringues nests - you will need chunks for texture as well as a little fine dust.
• Take out about half a cupful of the chopped strawberries, and fold the meringue cream and rest of the fruit mixture together.
• Arrange on 4 serving plates or glasses or in a mound, and top each with some of the remaining macerated strawberries.

STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE ETON MESS

Steps:

• Whisk the double cream and cream cheese to soft peaks. Hull the strawberries, then roughly chop half and quarter the rest. Blitz the chopped berries and icing sugar until smooth, then fold through the cream. Layer the strawberry cream into dessert glasses with the quartered berries, crushed meringue nests and crumbled gingernut biscuits and serve.

STRAWBERRY ETON MESS

Steps:

• Transfer the meringue cookies to a large, resealable plastic bag. Use a rolling pin to lightly crush the cookies. (You should have pieces of varying sizes.)
• Trim the berries, discarding the greens. Halve or quarter 1 pound of the strawberries; add to a medium bowl. Blend or mash the remaining 1/2 pound strawberries until you have a chunky purée. Add the strawberry purée, lime zest, lime juice and 2 to 3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar to the chopped strawberries and toss to coat. (The better the strawberries, the less sugar you'll need.)
• In a large bowl, beat the cream with 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar with an electric mixer on medium-high until whipped cream holds stiff peaks. Fold the crumbled meringue into the whipped cream.
• Starting and ending with the strawberry mixture, layer it with the cream mixture in individual serving dishes (preferably clear cups, bowls or jars), creating as many layers as you like. Serve immediately.

ETON MESS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 120C/100C fan/gas 1 and line a large baking tray with parchment paper. Whisk the egg whites in a clean bowl using an electric whisk or tabletop mixer until they reach stiff peaks, then add the sugar in 3 lots, re-whisking to stiff peaks every time. Spoon dollops of the mixture onto the baking parchment, cook on the bottom shelf of the oven for 1hr - 1hr15 mins until the meringues are completely hard and come off the paper easily. Leave to cool.
• Blitz 1/3 of the strawberries to make a strawberry sauce. In a large bowl whisk the cream with the icing sugar until it just holds its shape. Roughly crush ¾ of the meringues and tip them in with the chopped strawberries and stir, then swirl through the strawberry sauce. Dollop into bowls then crush the remaining meringues, sprinkling the pieces over the top.

ETON MESS CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Butter a 20cm springform cake tin and line the base with baking parchment. Put the biscuits in a plastic bag and use a rolling pin to bash them into crumbs - or blitz in a food processor. Melt the butter, then stir it into the biscuit crumbs, mixing thoroughly. Tip into the tin, press down to create a firm layer and put in the fridge for 1 hr to set.
• Using an electric whisk, beat the cheeses, sugar, vanilla seeds and a pinch of salt until thick and smooth. Pour in the double cream and whisk until only just combined. Spoon the filling onto the base, smooth the top and return to the fridge for at least 4 hrs or overnight.
• Half an hour before serving, put the strawberries in a bowl with 2 tbsp icing sugar, the balsamic and scraped vanilla pod. Mix once, then leave the strawberries to soften slightly and release their juices. Push 1/4 of the strawberries through a sieve along with the juices to create a thick purée - or blitz in a food processor.
• To serve, run a knife around the outside of the cheesecake, release it from the tin, then top with the strawberries dotted with the meringues, crushing some as you go. Drizzle over the purée and decorate with flowers, if using.