Eton Mess by the Barefoot Contessa

Honestly the majority of my favorite recipes come from the Barefoot Contessa collection. I do own them all, and i love to go through them. Not only does she have fantastic, easy, fresh recipes, but also many, many tips on food, flowers, entertaining and hosting.

One thing i have always wanted to make, but been very weary of creating, is meringues. So when i came across a recipe on how to make a very easy version of Eton Mess, (mounds of whip cream, crunchy bits of meringues drizzled with a fresh raspberry coulis...It really does not get any better then that!)

The easy Eton Mess recipe came out of my new book below!


I started out making a very easy coulis, basically i bought a 500g container of frozen raspberries. Divide them in half. One half into a pot over medium heat, to which i added 1 & 1/2 cup sugar (although my little two cents, i prefer a tart fruit coulis, so next time i will only add 1 cup.) Bring to a boil over medium heat, crush the raspberries with a fork. (I used my stirring thing-a-ma-bob.) Turn heat down to simmer for another few minutes until it is syrupy. Throw in the rest of the berries, and stir. Pop it into the fridge to chill.



Now, Barefoot says you can buy your meringues pre-made at a bakery, and she is right! Whip up your cream with a tsp vanilla, and 3 tbsp sugar (for 500g of cream.) Layer the meringues with whip and syrup over and over in a decorative glass, or a bowl. As you can see the end picture is missing. There was no time. It was too delicious. If you look closely at the cover of her book, that is what they look like. It is my new favorite dessert.

And now, if you are adventurous, and would like to make your own meringues, i got the recipe out of her book, Barefoot in Paris.



I think it called for five egg whites, some sugar and 1/4tsp cream of tartar. I used my kitchen aid and was so impressed by the beautiful, silken and cloud like texture. I was kind of in a rush to get the meringues fluff into my pastry bag that i did not really take a before picture. This is an after picture.

My first time piping, it totally could of been worse, but whatever, i was impressed, and not to forget, your going to BREAK them up!

A close up. (For a trick, trace a cup with a pencil over the parchment paper, then turn the paper over and use that for your circle outline.)


I popped them into the oven at 225 degrees for two hours, then left them in the oven with the heat off for four hours. Delicious! I really suggest trying it! What out for those humid days, they get all sticky!