This recipe is a bit of a hodgepode. It’s a idea of a peach melba combined with that of an Eton Mess. So it’s, I guess if I had to call it anything, a peach and raspberry eton mess.
I’m running into the problem that I get every summer on these pages. I hate summer cooking, and so much of what I eat is what I eat raw and easily chopped. None of that makes for very good blog fodder. Plus, I’ve still been rocking Green Chef every other week or so to make sure that I really don’t have to think too hard when it comes to food. In other words, all kinds of Lazy with a capital L.
Back to this dessert. It started when I bought my first flat of peaches a few weeks ago. Now, it’s not peach season yet, so they were a bit underwhelming. Peach season is that special 2-3 weeks at the end of July/beginning of August when the peaches are ripe you have to stand over the kitchen sink while you’re eating them because the juice is going to go simply everywhere and that’s just how it should be. It also happens to be around my birthday, and perfect peaches means I don’t need an excuse to make one of my favorite birthday cakes.
But again, it’s not peach season, so as I waited for the peaches to ripen on the counter for a week to get somewhat respectable, I had time to figure out what to do with them besides eat them with my yogurt every day. My mind wandered to peach melba. What is peach melba? I had no idea but it turns out it’s a peach dessert with raspberry sauce and vanilla ice cream. That sounded nice and I figured it was the perfect way to twist up an Eaton Mess, which is fresh berries and whipped cream folded and topped with crunched meringues. So what I’ve done here is chopped peaches, fresh pureed raspberries, slightly sweetened whipped cream (my favorite) and crushed store bought meringues, because if I am so lazy as to not make myself a proper dinner (smoked salmon with eggs for dinner last night, yo), then I sure am too lazy to make meringues from scratch.
This peach and raspberry Eton mess is a great dessert for all of summer to make for any gathering, larger or small because all of it can be made it advance with a five minute assembly before serving. My picnic pals last Sunday gave it all sorts of thumbs up. I’m not sad I made it now, but I’ll surely be making it again when the peaches are at their best. That is, if I can peel myself away from the kitchen sink.
Peach and Raspberry Eton Mess
This Peach and Raspberry Eton Mess lets the best of summer shine with simplicity: pureed raspberries, whipped cream, fresh peaches and crushed meringues.
Ingredients
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 packet unflavored gelatin
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 pint fresh raspberries
- 6 fresh peaches, diced
- 8 mini meringues
Directions
- Step 1 In a glass bowl, add the whipping cream and gelatin. Let sit 5 minutes.
- Step 2 Meanwhile, add the raspberries and sugar in the bowl of a food processor. Set aside.
- Step 3 Whip the cream to stiff peaks. Fold in the raspberry puree.
- Step 4 Assemble the ingredients in 4 wine glasses/bowls. Layer the bottom of each with peaches. Top with some whipped cream and 1 crushed meringue. Repeat until all the ingredients are gone and all the bowls are full. Serve and enjoy!
