Blueberry, honey and Lavender mess meringues

GILL MELLER’S BLUEBERRY, HONEY AND LAVENDER MESS

The combination of blueberry, honey and lavender might seem unusual at first, but it works very well in this wonderful, alternative Eton mess. It’s just the little delicate purple petals from the lavender flowers that you use, and early summer is the time to do it, when the heads are young and tender. A little goes a long way flavour wise so use it sparingly.

Preparation time 20 minutes | Cook time 1 hour 34 minutes | Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

200g organic blueberries

2 tbsp organic runny honey

6 – 8 lavender heads, plus extra petals to serve

150ml organic double cream

4 Stonegate Estate Organic egg whites

200g of caster sugar

METHOD

  1. First, place the blueberries in a medium pan with 1 tablespoon of water,1 tablespoon of the honey and the petals from the lavender heads. Set the pan over a medium heat and bring the mixture up to the simmer. Cook the blueberries for 3–4 minutes, or until they are just beginning to soften and collapse. Remove the fruit compote from the heat and allow it to cool, then transfer to the fridge to chill.
  1. Heat the oven to 120°C/100°C fan.
  1. To make the meringue. Place the egg whites in a large, clean bowl. Whisk with a hand-held electric whisk until they form and hold soft peaks. (You can do this in a stand mixer with a whisk attachment if you prefer.) Keeping the whisk running, add 1 large spoonful of sugar at a time, until all the sugar is incorporated. Continue to whisk for a further 6–8 minutes, until the meringue is thick, pale, smooth and glossy.
  1. Lightly grease a sheet of baking parchment and lay it on a large (at least 30 x 30cm/12 x 12in) baking sheet. Spoon the meringue onto the parchment, you want to aim for 5 – 6 even sized neat dollops. Spoon a small amount of blueberry compote on to each meringue and swirl it in with the tip of a knife to get a marbled effect. Bake the meringue for 1 hour 30 minutes.
  1. When you’re ready to serve, whip the cream with the remaining honey until it holds soft peaks. Roughly crumble 3 – 4 meringues into the cream and spoon in the compote. Use a large spoon to fold the mixture together. Don’t over mix it or you’ll lose that wonderful marbled effect.
  1. Spoon into glasses or bowls and top with any remaining compote and a few lavender petals to garnish.
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