{White chocolate Eton Mess}

White chocolate Eton Mess, from the Gü Chocolate Cookbook.

Our French chef Fred has learned to love so many English puddings and none more than Eton mess. He particularly likes the idea of a big summer lunch with huge meringues, which can be bashed up by kids using a rolling pin. If time is short, you could always use shop-bought meringues and not worry about making the strawberry syrup. While the end result wouldn’t be quite the same, it would still be pretty tasty.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

5 egg whites
150g caster sugar
150g icing sugar
300g strawberries, to serve

For the white chocolate chantilly

100g white chocolate, broken into small pieces
275ml whipping cream
1 tbsp glucose or runny honey

For the strawberry syrup

300g strawberries, hulled and cut in half
25g caster sugar

For the mint sugar

50g caster sugar
Mint leaves
Equipment
Electric hand mixer

• To make the chantilly cream, put the chocolate pieces into a heatproof bowl. Put 75ml of the cream and the glucose or honey into a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Pour the mixture over the chocolate and stir with a spatula until the chocolate has melted and become smooth. Stir in the remaining cream, and place in the fridge for 3-4 hours to crystallise.
• To make the meringues, preheat the oven to 110°C/Gas mark π and line a baking tray with baking parchment. Whisk the egg whites with an electric hand mixer in a bowl to soft peaks, then gradually whisk in the caster sugar until the mixture resembles shaving foam. Then carefully fold in the icing sugar.
• Spoon the meringue on the tray in a big dollop and bake for 50-60 minutes or until the meringue is crunchy and dry, but light and airy in the middle. Keep in an airtight container.
• For the strawberry syrup, tip the strawberries and sugar into a heatproof bowl and cover with cling film. Bring a pan of water to a simmer over a low heat, place the bowl over it and simmer for an hour, checking occasionally to make sure that the pan doesn’t dry out. Remove it from the heat and leave the syrup to cool.
• Tip the strawberries into a fine sieve and leave to drain. Don’t press the strawberries because you want to keep the juice clear. Discard the cooked pieces of strawberry and put the juice in the fridge to chill.
• Make the mint sugar, crush the sugar and mint leaves together in a mortar with the pestle until the two have blended together.
• To create the Eton mess, whip the chantilly cream until it forms soft peaks. Break the meringue into the cream. Prep your remaining strawberries, gently mix everything together and serve. Let your guests drizzle the strawberry juice and sprinkle the mint sugar over the top as they see fit.
Recipe from the Gü Chocolate Cookbook (Harper Collins, £18.99)

Fuente: www.telegraph.co.uk