Vegan Eton mess
This plant-based alternative to Eton mess uses aquafaba to make the meringues and agar-agar to set the homemade jam and jelly.
Ingredients
For the vegan meringue
- 2 x 400g tins chickpeas
- 300²µ/10½´Ç³ú caster sugar
- 3g cream of tartar
For the berry jam
- 2g agar-agar
- 30g/1oz caster sugar
- 120²µ/4½´Ç³ú strawberries, trimmed
- 110g/4oz raspberries
- 22ml/1fl oz lemon juice
For the sparkling wine jelly
- 2g agar-agar
- 20²µ/¾´Ç³ú caster sugar
- 150ml/5fl oz English sparkling wine
For the Chantilly cream
- 300ml/10fl oz plant-based double cream
- 1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped out or 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 30g/1oz caster sugar
To assemble
- 8 strawberries, sliced lengthways
- 16 raspberries
- gold leaf (optional)
Method
Preheat the oven to 120C/100C Fan/Gas ½ and line a baking tray with baking paper.
To make the vegan meringue, drain the chickpeas over a measuring jug. You should have around 300ml/10fl oz of chickpea aquafaba liquid from the tins. Reserve the chickpeas and keep covered in the fridge for up to 3 days to use in other recipes.
Pour the aquafaba into a saucepan, bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer. You want to reduce the volume down to 150ml/5fl oz, which should take around 10 minutes.
Place the reduced aquafaba in the clean bowl of a stand mixer with the sugar and cream of tartar. Use the whisk attachment to whip for 4 –5 minutes, or to a stable, fluffy meringue with firm peaks.
Scoop the meringue into a piping bag with a star nozzle attached and pipe small meringue kisses all over the baking paper. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, then leave to cool completely with the door slightly open.
To make the berry jam, mix the caster sugar and agar-agar together in a bowl. Add to a blender along with the berries and lemon juice and blend to a purée. Transfer to a saucepan and bring to the boil, then pour into a shallow container. Allow to cool, then place in the fridge to set. When ready to serve, blend or whisk the jam until smooth.
To make the sparkling wine jelly, mix the agar-agar and sugar together in a bowl then place in a saucepan with the sparkling wine. Bring to the boil, then pour into a container. Allow to cool, then place in the fridge to set. When set, cut the jelly into 1–2cm pieces.
To make the Chantilly cream, whip the ingredients together to soft peaks.
To assemble, place some fresh berries in the bottom of each serving glass with some pieces of jelly. Top with some meringue kisses, then pipe or spoon some Chantilly cream on, followed by a swirl of berry jam. Top with more fresh berries, some meringue kisses, more jelly and finish with gold leaf, if using.
Recipe Tips
To make this into a pavlova instead, pipe 4 small discs (about 6–8cm wide), of meringue onto your prepared baking tray. Pipe spikes around each disc to make them look like crowns. Pipe meringue kisses in the gaps for decoration. Then to serve, pile the cream, strawberries, jam and jelly into the middle of each one.