This dessert encourages you to mess with your food. In fact, precision is not advised. In other words, it's my kind of dessert.
The recipe is inspired by an Eton Mess, which is a British concoction that has an origin story involving a cake, a dog and, well, a mess. You might see where this is going. The story begins with a traditional pavlova dessert, which is an airy, ethereal meringue layered with billows of whipped cream, crowned with a mound of glistening berries and dusted with powdery sugar.
This festive, dreamy dessert was prepared to celebrate a cricket match at England's prestigious Eton School in the 1920s. However, a Labrador retriever — doing what Labradors do — discovered the cake first and squashed it. In keeping with the social norm and never crying over spilt milk (or smashed cakes, as it were), a transformative moment of culinary pivoting ensued, sparking the creation of a jumbled mishmash of whipping cream, crushed fruit and crumbled meringue — and heralding a (new) popular dessert for all times, affectionately labeled a mess.
This summery dessert is simple and fun to make — you do get to smash things, after all. The strawberries are traditional, but raspberries or a mix of berries can also be used. Note that it's best to serve the dessert immediately after preparing.
If you would like to stabilize it, replace 1/2 cup cream with 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese. Whip the cream first, then mix in the mascarpone before adding the remaining ingredients. Refrig.
