Eton Mess made with freshly made whipped cream, juicy berries and store-bought meringues, is an impressive and easy no-bake dessert perfect to serve during spring and summer months.

If you love berry desserts like we do, take a look at this incredibly easy and delicious Berry Bread Pudding recipe!

Two glasses filled with whipped cream, crushed meringues and berries

Summer months are filled with backyard barbecues, lazy nights al fresco and perfectly juicy and sweet fresh summer berries!

Eton Mess Recipe

This Eton Mess recipe is one of those underrated desserts I wish everyone would try. Creamy, light, fluffy and sweet with a hint of tartness from the berries make this simple, yet perfect dessert.

Whipped cream, crispy meringue cookies and stewed berries come together in an irresistible mess. Feel free to use any of your favorite seasonal berries. Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, boysenberries, blackberries or any combination of berries you’d like.

What’s Eton Mess

Eton Mess is a traditional English dessert made with whipped cream, crushed meringue cookies and macerated strawberries layered in a glass or cup almost like a mini trifle but using meringue cookies instead of cake.

In my recipe I cook the berries for about 6-minutes. I love the sweetness and jam-like taste of stewed berries especially when berries are not in season or as ripe as one hopes.

Why Is It Called Eaton Mess

There’s a story that tell us that in the 19th century during a game of cricket between Eton College and Harrow, someone dropped the well known dessert pavlova, some strawberries and pudding on the ground. Instead of throwing them away, they decided to crushed the pavlova and mix it with the strawberries and pudding creating the now well known Eaton mess. Pavlova is similar to very similar to meringue cookies.

Some people believe that the story above is not true and that Eaton mess was in fact a dessert called strawberry mess. Apparently banana mess was also made during that time.

Glass with whipped cream, raspberries and meringue on a light blue surface.

How To Make Eaton Mess

This dessert recipe has 3 parts. The stewed berries or berry sauce, the whipped cream and the meringue cookies. To make things easier, I use store bought meringues. All you have to do is crush them. Easy right?

The Berries: In the recipe card below, you will find two recipes. One for blueberry sauce and one for raspberry sauce. They are both super easy to make and you can really make them with any berry. I add a little bit of liquor to mine but you can skip it if you prefer.

In a small pot combine blueberries, a tablespoon of berry or orange liquor (like Framboise or Grand Marnier), a tablespoon of water, sugar and fresh lemon juice. If you want to skip the liquor, simply use 2 tablespoons of water. Cook for about 6 to 8 minutes or until thickened and bubbly.

The Whipped Cream: There’s nothing quite like freshly made whipped cream. It’s easy and quick to make.

Beat the chilled heavy cream until frothy. Add the sugar and the vanilla and beat on medium-high speed until firm peaks form.

The Meringue: I love meringue cookies and I usually always buy them. You can use the regular vanilla ones or you can get a bit adventurous and try chocolate meringue cookies or lemon ones. They are all so good!

Layering the Ingredients:

Spread whipped cream into the bottom of an individual serving dish or glass. Add a layer of blueberry sauce, followed by another layer of cream. Top with a few pieces of meringue cookies. Repeat.

topped view of Eton Mess served in glasses.

The raspberry sauce and blueberry sauce can be made 1 to 2 days in advanced. The whipped cream can be made a few hours before serving.
Don’t assemble this dessert until close to eating time. It will only keep for a couple of hours in the refrigerator
The traditional Eton Mess recipe is made with macerated strawberries. I prefer cooking the berries for a sweeter more decadent taste.
Make the whipped cream with chilled heavy cream or heavy whipping cream.
You can use frozen berries.