White chocolate Eton mess

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 punnet strawberries
• 1tsp pink peppercorn
• 2 sprigs mint
• 3 egg whites
• 80g castor sugar
• 250ml fresh cream
• 200g white chocolate
• 1 lemon

Method

1. Remove the tops from the strawberries and slice them thinly lengthways. Finely chop the mint and crush the peppercorns in a pestle and mortar or alternatively finely chop with a knife.
2. Add them all to a bowl along with 20g of the sugar, the zest of half the lemon and a few drops of the juice. Coat them all thoroughly and allow to macerate for at least half an hour.
3. Pre-heat the oven to 140 C. Add the egg whites and a few drops of lemon juice to a clean glass or stainless steel bowl . Whisk with the electric whisk until soft peaks and then add in the remaining sugar. Continue whisking until stiff peaks form and it looks glossy.
4. Line the baking tray with baking paper and place half of the meringue mix on it. Use the offset spatula to smooth it out into one sheet of about 1cm in thickness. Repeat on a second tray.
5. Place the trays in the oven and bake for half an hour or until firm to the touch. Do not allow them to take on too much colour. To check whether it is done remove one tray from the oven and allow to cool. It should snap easily. If it is still pliable bake for longer.
6. Melt the white chocolate over a bain marie. Once melted allow to cool to room temperature. Whisk the cream till stiff peaks. Mix two tablespoons of cream with the chocolate and then fold it into the rest of the cream. Place in the fridge for an hour to firm up.
7. To assemble, layer the bottom of a bowl with the strawberries and their juice. Spoon 3 tablespoons of cream on top. Break up the meringue into different sized shards and place standing vertically upwards along the outside of the cream.
8. Garnish with a few fresh mint leaves.

This recipe first appeared on Gourmet Today TV, March 2019 

hWatch the full episode here: