Saffron Raspberry and White Currant Eton Mess

Saffron Raspberry and White Currant Eton Mess by Meeta K. Wolff

Prep Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes(plus cooling, standing)

Serves: 10

Ingredients:

  • 700g Raspberries

  • 110g muscovado sugar

  • 200ml whipping cream, lightly whisked

  • 125g quark

  • 55g icing sugar, sieved

  • good pinch saffron

  • 125g white currants

  • 100g pistachios, chopped

For the meringues

  • 100g egg whites (about 3 eggs)

  • 100g fine sugar

  • 100g icing sugar, sieved

  • 15g cornflour

Method:

  1. To make the meringues, preheat the oven to 120 degrees C. Line two baking trays with baking paper. Whisk the egg whites until still peaks form, approx 4 minutes. Gradually add the fine sugar, while whisking continuously, until thick and glossy. This will take a further 2 to 3 minutes.

  2. Sieve the icing sugar and cornflour over the egg white mixture, fold to combine, then either spoon small mounds onto the trays or transfer the meringue mixture into a piping bag and pipe about 20-30 meringues.

  3. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until meringues lift easily from trays and are crisp but not colored, then turn off oven and cool completely in oven.

  4. Take about 2 teaspoons of the cream and sprinkle the saffron. Allow to steep for 10 minutes. In the meantime sprinkle the muscovado sugar over the raspberries and very gently toss, making sure the raspberries do not become mushy. Set aside for approx. 20 minutes until the juices begin to seep.

  5. Whisk cream, quark (or crème fraîche), icing sugar and the saffron cream together in a separate large bowl until soft peaks form.

  6. Scatter a quarter of the raspberries in the base of a serving bowl, spread with a quarter of the cream mixture, and coarsely crumble a quarter of the meringue over the top. Repeat layering with remaining ingredients. Alternatively layer in individual dessert glasses. Scatter with the white currents and sprinkle with the chopped pistachios and serve immediately.

Notes:

You will find detailed tips and tricks to make the perfect meringues in the meringue 101 (Pavlova recipe).

If you are unable to find quark in your area you can substitute it with crème fraiche or follow my recipe to make your own homemade quark.

The raspberry embodies indulgence and health almost ideally. You will find all you wanted to know about raspberries in my Food Guide.

Saffron is the queen of spices and besides giving a vivid yellow color it provides a sublime flavor to everything it is added to. More about the queen of spice Saffron.

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