Short & Sweet: A sweet treat!

A sweet treat!

I have always loved meringue, with a pavlova being one of my favorite desserts when I was younger, to make with my mum. However, up until recently I had never thought of the concept of an Eaton Mess cupcake.

The delicious strawberry and vanilla sponge, paired with the crisp meringue topped buttercream, and sweet strawberry jam is truly a match made in heaven.

Eaton Mess Cupcakes

Prep time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes-1 hour
Serves: 6 cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:

150g softened butter
150g caster sugar
3 free range eggs
150g self raising flour
50g strawberries
1tsp vanilla extract

For the buttercream:

150g softened butter
300g sifted icing sugar
1-2tsp milk (to soften the icing)
Jam & a strawberry to decorate

For the Meringue:

3 free range egg whites
150g caster sugar

Method:

Firstly, to make the meringues preheat the oven to 110 degrees Celsius. Separate the egg whites and yolks of three eggs, and place the egg whites into a bowl. Using an electric mixer whisk the whites until they form stiff peaks (this will probably take about 5 minutes).

Next, add the caster sugar a tablespoon at a time, whisking the egg whites on a high setting until all the sugar is added and the mixture is glossy.

Line a baking tray with parchment paper, and prepare a piping bag with a nozzle of your choice. If you would like to place a meringue on top of the cake instead of mixed in with the icing you could use food colouring down the side of the piping bag to create stripy meringue kisses. Place the glossy meringue into the piping bag and pipe your desired shape and deign meringues, making sure to leave a small gap between each. Place into the oven for about 1 hour or until the peel away from the baking paper, and are crisp on the outside.
(If you are mixing them in with the icing like mine they may need a bit longer to also make the inside crisp instead of chewy).

o make the cupcake preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius and fill a cupcake tray with cases. Place the softened butter, and caster sugar into a mixing bowl and whisk/mix until they are fully combined and are of a creamy consistency.

Next add the eggs, one at a time, mixing thoroughly between each addition to prevent the mixture from curdling.

Once the eggs are fully incorporated add the sifted flour, and gently fold this in using a figure of eight action. Finally, chop the strawberries into small chunks and coat with a small amount of flour (to stop them sinking), and add these along with the vanilla into the mixture and stir gently.

Fill each cupcake case with the batter until they are 2/3 of the way full, and place on the middle shelf of the oven, for about 12-15 minutes, or until they are of a golden colour and springy to the touch.

Once baked place on a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

Meanwhile, to make the buttercream place the softened butter into a mixing bowl and gradually add the sifted icing sugar, mixing until they are completely combined. If the icing is too thick at this point you can add a small amount of milk (a bit at a time) to make it a pipable consistency.

Once the meringues are out of the oven and cooled crush your desired amount up and place into the buttercream. I also added some onto the outside once the icing was on top of the cake.

Prepare an icing bag with a plain nozzle, and fill with your buttercream. Pipe a large 'blob' of icing onto the cake, and top with some more crushed meringues.

Finally, drizzle some strawberry jam on top of the cakes, and place half a strawberry to finish.

I hope you enjoyed learning how to make these delicious Eaton Mess cupcakes. Happy Baking!

A sweet treat!

Eaton Mess Cupcakes

Ingredients:

Method:

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