Dessert: Blackberry and pomegranat Eaton mess

My eyes have recently been opened to the decadent and oh-so-delicious English dessert Eaton mess.

Let me just start off my telling you that I have been missing out!

How did I not know about this dessert until now!

It´s sweet, tangy, chewy, crunchy, fresh and melts ever so sinfully on the tongue.

Merengues used in traditional Norwegian cooking are called “Pike kiss”, that roughly translates to “Maiden kisses”.

They are small dollops that are, they way I´ve experienced them as a child are dry and over the top sugary.

But then I saw these delicious merengue creations pop up on Mimi´s gorgeous blog Manger and my moth started watering.

So when my English gentleman took me to a little tea room and ordered a berry fresh and colorful Eaton mess I thought I had died and gone to heaven!

We shared one, which was a mistake…

When it comes to this dessert I´ve learned the hard way that one simply cannot be shared by two.

SO we made a promise that next time we´d get one each to satisfy our Eaton mess hunger.

The recipe below is my attempt to recreate that lovely afternoon in the english tea house in England.

I hope you like it!

PS: What´s your favorite eaton mess version? Or merengue dessert?

Blackberry and Pomegranat Eaton mess

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Ingredients

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Serves 6

250g blackberries

1 pomegranat

40g caster sugar

2,5 dl whipping cream

A pinch of salt

For the meringues:

4 large egg whites

225g caster sugar

For the Blackberry puree:

250 g fresh blackberries

Fresh juice of 1⁄2 lemon

1/2 dl cold water

For the Pomegranate syrup:

2 pomegranats

4tbs sugar

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Directions

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Preheat the oven to 150 degrees.

Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Merengues

Whisk the egg whites in a large bowl until they form soft peaks. Add the sugar, one tablespoon at a time, whisking well until it is all mixed and resembles shaving foam.

Create small merengue mountains with spoons on to the baking sheet, spacing them well apart. Ca 12 tbs pr merengue mountain.

Reduce the temperature to 130, place the merengue on the baking tray in the oven and bake for 1 hour and 45 min, until the meringues are crisp.

Turn the oven off and leave them to cool with the door shut.

Blackberry Puree

Mix 250g blackberries with the sugar, cold water and lemon juice in a bowl.

Bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat and leave to simmer for about 10 minutes until its all gone soft, stirr occasionally.

Remove from the heat and purée using a stick blender until smooth.

Leave to cool.

Pomegranat syrup

2 Pomegranats

4 tbs sugar

Squeeze the juice from the pomegranates in a little pot and add the sugar.

Bring to a boil.

Turn down the heat and simmer until thick.

Let it cool before serving.

Whip the cream until it is thick and creates soft dollops when you pull out the whiskers. Break the meringues into a large bowl. You want larger chuncks and not all crushed, powdered and small. Add the blackberries, pomegranate reads and the whipping cream by creating layers. Keep a few of blackberries and pomegranate seeds for a final touch and decoration to your dessert.

Mix without making a mash, a perfect mess is what you´re going for:)

Before serving sprinkle over the puree and syrup before you top it off with a few of the berries and seeds left.

Indulge and enjoy:)