Cherry Eton Mess

The traditional Eton Mess, made with strawberries, is my husband’s favorite dessert (and I like it very much too). :) I took advantage of the amazing cherries we have here in Sao Paulo by the end of the year to give the dessert a new twist.

The recipe is easy, especially because I use store bought meringues – turning the oven on in December and January here in Brazil is a terrible idea. The hard part of making this dessert is refraining from eating all the cherries before even gathering the other ingredients. :D

Cherry Eton Mess
own recipe

Cherry compote:
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
1 star anise
3 tablespoons cold water
500g fresh cherries, pitted and halved

To assemble the dessert:
1 cup (240ml) heavy cream, cold
½ tablespoon icing sugar
2 ½ cups mini meringues – if they are large ones, break them into smaller pieces
100g fresh cherries, pitted and halved

Start by making the compote: place the sugar, water and star anise in a large, heavy saucepan over médium-high heat. Cook until caramelized, without stirring – just swirl the pan occasionally. Stir in the cherries and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, transfer to a heatproof bowl and discard the star anise. Cool completely.

To assemble the dessert: beat the cream with the icing sugar until soft peaks form. Set aside 4 large glasses (the ones on the photo are 400-ml capacity glasses). In each glass alternate layers of meringues, cherry compote and whipped cream, placing a few fresh cherries in between the layers as well. Serve cold.

Serves 4