It's July!! Dessert Time!!

Hey everyone,

This month is desserts month! What is your favourite dessert? I'm partial to some Tiramisu and Lemon Meringue Pie. With the weather being up and down as it is, I've come up with desserts that will fit for rain or shine.

The first recipe I would like to share is Eton Mess. It's one of the simplest recipes out there. The trick is that you can use shop brought meringues or you can make your own. The choice is yours. This recipe serves 6 people.

Ingredients:

For the Meringue:

2 large egg whites

120g Caster Sugar

500g Strawberries roughly chopped (with the leaves removed)

450ml Double Cream

1tbsp Icing Sugar

Zest of Lemon and Lime to decorate (optional)

Method:

If you are making your own meringue start with the steps below. If you're using shop bought meringue start from step 6.

1. Heat your oven to 120C/100C fan/gas 1.

2. Whisk the egg whites in a clean bowl until stiff peaks form.

3. Gradually add the caster sugar bit by bit whilst continuing to whisk until combined.

4. Use 4 small dollops of the meringue mixture to hold your baking parchment down on your baking sheet (this stops the baking parchment moving and also ensures your meringue hasn't got squashed.)

5. Spread out the meringue mixture onto the baking sheet in any fashion-dollops are a good idea (you will be breaking it up into smaller bits later) and bake in the oven for 1hr-1hr 15 minutes. The meringues should be hard on the outside and slightly gooey in the middle. Leave to cool.

6. In another bowl whisk the double cream with the icing sugar until soft peaks form.

7. Using a mini chopper/hand blender/fork blend a few of the strawberries into a sauce consistency. Stir a little of the sauce into the cream mixture.

8. Roughly chop up the remaining strawberries and leave aside.

8. Crush the meringues into bitesize pieces. Spoon the cream mixture into 6 glass bowls (or whatever you have in the cupboard), add the chopped strawberries and crushed meringue, and drizzle the strawberry sauce over the top. Zest a lemon and lime to give the Eton Mess an extra flourish (optional)

Enjoy!

Lily x