Gooseberry and elderflower mess

Gooseberry and elderflower mess

Gooseberry & elderflower mess

We’ve given Eton mess a twist by swapping the strawberries for another classic fruit – gorgeous gooseberries

  • Serves 6
  • Easy

Nutrition per serving

  • Calories 505
  • Carbohydrates 32
  • Saturated Fat 25
  • Sugar 33
  • Protein 3
  • Fat 41
  • Fiber 2
  • Salt 0.1

Ingredients

  • 300g gooseberries (we used red ones - see tip below), tops pinched off

  • 50g golden caster sugar, plus 2 tbsp

  • 2 tbsp elderflower cordial

  • 600ml pot whipping cream

  • about 100g meringues (4-5 large nests), roughly crumbled

Red gooseberries

There are many different varieties of gooseberry, from sharp green ones to the sweeter red dessert berries. Adding only half the sugar at the start of the recipe means that you can adjust to taste later, depending on the sharpness of the variety you’re using. Look for punnets of red gooseberries at Marks & Spencer.





Method

  1. Put the gooseberries, 2 tbsp water and 25g of the sugar in a small saucepan. Gently cook until the gooseberries are just softening and breaking down. Taste, adding more of the remaining 25g sugar as you need, then set aside to cool.

  2. Put the 2 tbsp sugar, the cordial and cream in a big bowl and whisk until soft peaks form, then cover and chill until ready to serve.

  3. Just before serving, swirl the gooseberry compote, cream and meringues together and spoon into serving glasses or bowls.