Eton Mess Cake

Sorry for the late post this week, it's coming to you from the hazy world of head colds. Last weekend was my father-in-law's birthday and as per usual he requested a sponge cake with cream and fresh berries. This didn't surprise me but at first I was thinking, 'Damn I just made that kind of cake'. But then I had a small jolt of inspiration; if I used strawberries and cream and added some meringue to the cake I could make a cake inspired by one of my all-time favourite desserts, the Eton mess. This cake is made up of layered sponge flavoured with rose water, vanilla bean whipped cream, crushed meringue and a thick strawberry sauce. You cannot go wrong with that.

Eton mess is pretty much the ideal dessert for a baker like me. It's fresh, easy and delicious even though it looks like an absolute mess on the plate. I always love the mix of all the textures and flavours in it, with the fresh berries, tart strawberry sauce, crunchy meringue bits and fluffy whipped cream. This works really well for a naked layered sponge cake because it keeps it super light but still interesting (perfect for capping off a home-cooked roast dinner in the middle of winter, trust me!). And it's good for messy bakers because it doesn't matter if it looks a bit rough, it's supposed to be like that!

I was puffing my chest out feeling so original about this idea until I went back to look at the cake I baked for the same occasion last year and realised that it was nearly identical in presentation, right down to the topping of fresh berries and meringue cookies. Damn. It does taste completely different though. It's fairly messy once you start cutting into the cake, but I think that makes it extra appropriate for its title.

Eton Mess Cake (makes a 3 layer 18cm (7") round cake, sponge recipe from Gourmet Traveller) For the Sponge Cake: Note: If you are new to sponge cakes make sure you click through to the Gourmet Traveller link above for extra tips. This sponge cake relies solely on the whipped eggs for leavening and it is important you follow all the steps carefully.
Sponge cake: 60g (about 4.5 tbsp) butter, melted and cooled plus extra for greasing tins 180g (about 1 & 1/3 cups) plain/all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting 6 eggs, at room temperature 200g (about 1 cup) caster/superfine sugar 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1. Make sure your eggs are at room temp and preheat oven to 180°C (350° F) (you may need to adjust to 160-170°C (340° F) for fan-forced).
2. Brush three 18cm (7 inch) round cake tins with melted butter, line base and sides with baking paper, grease paper with a little extra butter and then dust lightly with flour.
3. Triple-sift flour and set aside.
4. Whisk eggs, sugar and vanilla in an electric mixer until thick, pale and tripled in volume (about 7-8 minutes). Sift over flour in two batches, folding each batch in with a large metal spoon or spatula.
5. Fold in melted butter.
6. Carefully pour equal amounts into prepared tins and bake until light golden and centre springs back when pressed lightly with your fingertip (about 20 minutes).
7. Pull cake gently away from sides of tin with your fingers or carefully loosen with a knife. Turn onto a wire rack, remove baking paper, turn back over swiftly and cool completely.
8. Optional: I placed 1 tbsp rose water, 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water in a saucepan and stirred it over medium heat until it formed a syrup, poked holes through the cakes using a fork and brushed the syrup over the cakes to give it light rose flavour. This part isn't necessary but adds an interesting touch.

For the meringues:
4 egg whites, at room temperature A pinch of salt 200g (about 1 cup) caster/superfine sugar

1. Preheat oven to 120°C (250°F) (100°C (210°F) fan-forced) and measure all your ingredients. Line two baking trays with baking paper.
2. Place egg whites and salt in a large, clean mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. With the mixer on low, add sugar 1 tbsp at a time then whisk on high until thick and glossy (at least 5 mins).
3. Pinch a small amount of mixture between your thumb and forefinger. If mixture is smooth then the sugar has dissolved, if it is still grainy, beat for a minute or so more and check again. Beat until sugar has completely dissolved.
4. Place mixture in a large piping bag with a 1cm round tip and pipe on the prepared baking trays. I kept my meringues about the same size as my fresh strawberries
5. Place in oven and reduce oven temp to 90°C (195°F) (85°C (185°F) fan-forced). Leave the oven on for 60-75 mins or until the meringues are crisp (mine too longer but I prefer to leave them longer at a low temp than risk them browning at a higher temp), then turn off oven and allow the meringues to cool completely in the oven (2-3 hours).
6. Store in an airtight container until ready to serve cake.

For the strawberry sauce: 300g (5oz) strawberries berries, fresh or frozen, hulled and finely chopped 1/3 cup (about 65g) sugar
4 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
2 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch) 4 tsp cold water

1. Place strawberries, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla in a medium saucepan and place on medium heat. Stir over heat until sugar dissolves.
2. Mix cornflour and water together in a separate small bowl then add to the saucepan and stir over medium heat until mixture thickens, about 3-4 minutes (if mixture becomes too thick, add water 1 tbsp and stir until it reaches the right consistency). Set aside to cool.

To assemble cake:
Note: Amounts of cream, strawberry sauce and meringue in this recipe makes more than you need to assemble cake but the extra amounts are good for serving on the side of the cake
600ml (about 2.5 cups) thickened (heavy) cream 1/2 cup icing (confectioners') sugar, sifted 1 vanilla bean pod, split and seeds scraped (or 1 tsp vanilla bean paste/pure vanilla extract)
Strawberry sauce and meringue cookies from recipes above Fresh strawberries to decorate, hulled Glaze: 1 cup icing sugar, sifted, about 1-2 tbsp milk or water (I also added a few drops of rose water)

1. Place cream, icing sugar and vanilla bean seeds in a large mixing bowl and beat on high until it reaches stiff peaks.
2. Use a sharp, serrated knife to level the tops of your sponge cakes.
3. Place first cake layer on your serving plate or stand and top with a thick layer of cream swirled together with dollops of strawberry sauce and crushed meringue cookies (ensure you retain enough meringues to decorate the top of your cake). Keep filling about 1 cm from the edge of the cake to stop mixture from overflowing when you sandwich layers on top.
4. Sandwich with another cake layer and repeat.
5. Mix together icing sugar with liquid to form a thick, smooth paste for the glaze. Spread over the top of your cake using a spatula.
6. Decorate with fresh strawberries and meringues. Place in fridge to allow glaze to set and store there until ready to serve. Can be served with extra cream, sauce and meringue cookies.