Chocolate Eton Mess

I love Eton Mess. The variations you can create steaming from the traditional meringue, cream and fruit (usually strawberries) are endless, making this one of the most versatile and hardy recipes around. Tropical fruits like Mango and Passionfruit or a mix of berries from Blue to Black all taste great, but a chocolate twist to this dessert of English origin is certainly the best variation on the classic I know…

Chocolate Meringue Ingredients

• 4 egg whites
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder

Chocolate Sauce Ingredients

• 200g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
• 300ml cream
• 2 tbs brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Chocolate Cream Ingredients

• 300ml cream
• 1/3 cup drinking chocolate powder
• 250g raspberries (frozen or fresh)

Method

First the meringues – to make a chocolate version is requires simply adding cocoa powder to the basic meringue recipe. Preheat oven to 120°C. Line two baking trays with baking paper. Draw a rough 22cm circle on each piece of paper.

Use an electric beater to beat 4 egg whites in a bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add 1 cup of sugar, beating well until sugar dissolves. Use a large metal spoon to fold in 1/4 cup cocoa.

Spread the mixture evenly between the two circles. Bake (swapping the trays halfway through) for 1 hour or until firm and dry. Turn the oven off. Leave to cool in the oven with the door ajar.

To make the chocolate sauce, place chocolate, cream, sugar and vanilla in a small saucepan. Stir over low heat until chocolate melts. Bring to a simmer. Simmer for 8-10 minutes or until it reduces and thickens. Pour into a heatproof jug and set aside.

Next the chocolate cream made using an electric mixer beat the cream and drinking chocolate until stiff peaks form. Set aside.

Take your now cooled chocolate meringue discs and crumble them roughly (bite size pieces) and set aside.

Now for the fun part – in the serving bowl, tip a third of your crumbled meringue, top with a third of your raspberries, drizzle over some chocolate sauce then top with chocolate cream. Continue until you have filled your serving bowl with a mountain of Chocolate Eton Mess – top it off with a few more raspberries and a generous drizzle of chocolate sauce.

Posted by Ben on 28 Jun 2009 at 12:06 PM | 7 Comments
Filed in Recipes under eton mess, recipe