Eton Mess with Raspberries and Red Currants

For years, meringues were were my enemy. They were "that one thing" that I didn't know how to prepare and that I avoided. I tried many times. Oh, yes I did. And every time flat, dumb discs came out of the oven, not those nicely shaped meringues that I admired.
And to be clear, it's not that I craved eating them, it's just that I was fascinated with how they managed to keep perfect shape in the oven.
Then my daughter came along. And she begged me to buy those pink and white and blue meringues sold at the supermarket, which I totally refused. And tried making them at home repeating my failure once more. My daughter ate them just the same ending up with a terrible toothache giving me one more reason not to experiment again.

At that time I didn't know about Eton Mess.
At that time I didn't know I'd actually learn how to make perfect meringues one day.
At that time I didn't know I'd actually get to like the meringues.
At that time...
I could have gone with the store bought ones, but I'm a pretty stubborn person.
And I know by now, that nothing is impossible if you have a good recipe.
And Meeta from What's for lunch, honey blog is more than a guarantee. You can trust her recipes blindly. But maybe it's better to keep your eyes open and enjoy her gorgeous photos, too.
If you plan on enertaining this summer don't miss to prepare some Eton Mess, it's really a great summer dessert. Keep some meringues ready just in case, and you can whip it up in no time just for those occasions when you don't have much time or it is too hot to turn the oven on and bake.

I really love it. The tangy fruit mixed with soft cheesy cream (p.s. I know Eton mess is usually made with just whipped cream, but I'm not fan of whipped cream alone, and that's why I love this recipe) and the contrast of crisp meringues that melt in your mouth at every bite... Go ahead, I know you want some right now...

Eton Mess with Raspberries and Red Currants
(check the original recipe HERE)

for the meringues:
* 65 g eggwhites at room temperature (approx. 2 medium size egg whites)
* 65 g fine caster sugar
* 65 g powdered sugar
* 8 g corn starch

for the cream:
* 200 ml heavy cream
* 55 g powdered sugar
* 125 g quark or ricotta or creme fraiche
* 2 TBspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
* about 250 g raspberries
* 2 TBspoons brown sugar
* about 100 g currants (red or white)



  

To prepare the meringues, put the egg whites into the bowl of your stand mixer and start whipping them at high speed. When soft peaks start forming, add the sugar, gradually, and continue whipping until thick and glossy.
Sift together the powdered sugar and the corn starch into the egg whites and fold them in, slowly and gently.
Tranfer the meringue into a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip.
Pipe the meringues on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake them in an oven preheated to 100°C for 40-50 minutes.
*I added 5-6 drops of essential lemon oil to give the meringues lemony note.
*Meringues are ready when you can easily detach them from the paper and they are crisp, but not coloured.
Turn the oven off and leave the meringues in to cool completely.

Put the raspberries into a bowl and sprinkle them with brown sugar. Toss gently and let them macerate for 10 minutes and release some juice.
Whisk the heavy cream with powdered sugar, lemon juice and cheese (or crème fraîche) using a hand mixer until smooth.
Prepare one serving bowl or 4 individual ones. Distribute 1/4 of the raspberries on the bottom of the bowl(s). Cover with 1/4 of cream mixture. Crumble 1/4 of the meringues and repeat the layers until you've finished all ingredients.

Scatter the red currants on top and serve immediately.

Eton Mess con lamponi e ribes
(ricetta originale)

per le meringhe
* 65 g di albumi (circa 2 albumi)
* 65 g zucchero molto fine (tipo Zefiro)
* 65 g zucchero in polvere
* 8 g amido di mais

per la crema:
* 200 ml di panna fresca
* 55 g zucchero in polvere
* 125 g di quark o ricotta o creme fraiche
* 2 cucchiai di succo di limone
* circa 250 g di lamponi
* 2 cucchiai di zucchero di canna
* circa 100 g di ribes (rossi o bianchi)

Per le meringhe, mettete gli albumi nella ciotola e cominciate a montarli. Quando cominci a formarsi neve morbida, aggiungete gradualmente lo zucchero semolato e continuate a montare finché la massa diventi soda e lucida.  Mescolate lo zucchero a velo con l'amido di mais e setacciateli direttamente nella ciotola con la meringa montata. Mescolate con delicatezza usando una frusta a mano o una spatola di silicone facendo attenzione a smontare la massa.
Trasferitela nella tasca pasticcera con la punta a stella. Formate le meringhe su una placca da forno ricoperta con la carta da forno.
Cuocete le meringhe nel forno già caldo a 100°C per circa 40-50 minuti.
*Ho aggiunto anche 4-5 gocce di olio essenziale di limone per dare un tocco più saporito alle meringhe. 
*Le meringhe sono pronto quando si staccano facilmente dalla carta e sono friabili.
Lasciate raffreddare le meringhe dentro il forno spento.

Mettete i lamponi in una ciotola e cospargeteli con lo zucchero di canna. Mescolatele con delicatezza e lasciatele marinare una ventina di minuti.
In un'altra ciotola mescolate la panna, lo zucchero a velo, il succo di limone e formaggio oppure crème fraîche.
Montate con le fruste elettrice fino a ottenere una crema liscia.
In una ciotola o 4 ciotoline/bicchieri individuali, distribuite 1/4 di lamponi sul fondo. Ricopriteli con 1/4 di crema e 1/4 di meringhe sbriciolate. Ripetete altri tre strati, lamponi-crema-meringhe.
Decorate con i ribes e servite subito.

Ovim receptom nakon dužeg vremena pridružujem se igrici Ajme koliko nas je, čija je domaćica ovog mjeseca Anja s bloga Sweetheart a tema koju je odabrala su bjeljanjci.
Od ranije objavljenih recepata s bjeljanjcima na blogu izdvojila bih također Macarons sa šafranom, Macarons s makom, Tortice s medom, Integralna torta/cupcakes s jagodama,  Lisnate rolnice s bademima i jabukom, Panna cotta s karamelom, Kocke s čokoladom i malinama. Do sad sam objavila samo slatke recepte s bjeljanjcima, ali se nadam da ću uspjeti do kraja mjeseca pripremiti i nekoliko slanih koje imam odavno na umu.

Eton Mess s malinama i ribizlama
(originalni recept)

za meringue/puslice
* 65 g bjeljanjaka (otprilike 2 bjeljanjka)
* 65 g jako sitnog kristal šećera
* 65 g šećera u prahu
* 8 g škrobnog brašna

ostali sastojci:
* 200 ml svježeg slatkog vrhnja za šlag
* 55 g šećera u prahu
* 125 g quarka ili ricotte ili creme fraiche ili milerama
* 2 žlice svježe iscijeđenog soka limuna
* oko 250 g malina
* 2 žlice smeđeg šećera
* oko 100 g ribizli (crvenih ili bijelih)

Za puslice stavite bjeljanjke (sobne temperature) u zdjelu i mutite mikserom dok ne dobijete mekani snijeg.
Polako sipajte kristal šećer i nastavite mutiti dok smjesa ne postane gusta i sjajna.

Pomiješajte skupa šećer u prahu i škrobno brašno pa prosijte na umućenu smjesu od bjeljanjaka.
Izmiješajte pažljivo i polako špatulom (kao da preklapate smjesu, dolje-gore) da se sve sjedini.
Napunite slastičarsku vrećicu sa zvjezdastim nastavkom i oblikujte puslice po želji (istiskujte ih na pleh obložen papirom za pečenje).
Dobit ćete otprilike dva pleha.
Stavite ih peći/sušiti u pećnicu zagrijanu na 100°C oko 40-50 minuta.
*Ja sam u smjesu dodala i 5-6 kapi esencijalnog prehrambenog ulja limuna koje im je dalo krasnu aromu.
*Puslice su gotove kad se lako mogu odvojiti od papira i prhke su.
Isključite pećnicu i ostavite ih da se potpuno ohlade unutra.

Stavite maline u zdjelu i dodajte smeđi šećer. Pažljivo promiješajte i ostavite da odstoji 20-ak minuta da maline puste sok.
Pomiješajte u zdjeli slatko vrhnje, šećer u prahu, sok limuna i sir (propasirani) ili creme fraiche ili mileram i mutite mikserom dok ne dobijete glatku kremu.
U jednu veću zdjelu za posluživanje ili 4 pojedinačne čaše rasporedite na dno polovicu ili četvrtinu malina.
Preko malina rasporedite polovicu/ ili četvrtinu kreme od sira i vrhnja, a preko nje grubo namrvljene puslice.
Ponovite slojeve maline - krema - puslice dok ne potrošite sve i na kraju ukrasite bobicama ribizli.
Poslužite odmah.