Eton Mess Cake

I turned this classic British dessert into cake form. Strawberries, cream, mascarpone, meringue, white chocolate and light sponge provide a heavenly combination that can't be exploited enough, in my opinion. A cake inspired by hot summers on the lawn, but equally enjoyed with a cup of tea by the fire in the dead of winter.

This does take a few hours to put everything together, but there is nothing that is tricky and the results are worth it. It's a very big cake, so it's perfect for big celebrations- like turning 21!

For the cake:

I used BBC Good Food's: Classic Victoria Sandwich for 2 layers and Strawberry Sponge Cake for the other 2 layers.

For the filling:

I whisked 500ml double cream, 100ml mascarpone, and 1 tablespoon icing sugar. Then I folded in 2 crumbled meringue swirls and 2 handfuls of thinly sliced strawberries to create an Eton Mess filling.

For the icing:

I whisked 400g unsalted butter with 800g icing sugar and a splash of milk until light and fluffy. Meanwhile, I microwaved a few frozen berries. Then I strained the juice from the berries into the icing a little at a time until I had reached the desired level of pink.

For the decoration:

Whilst the cakes were baking, I dipped a few strawberries in white chocolate and let them cool on a lined baking tray. After icing the cake, I melted 200g of white chocolate. With a piping bag I dripped melted chocolate down the side of the cake and covered the top in white chocolate too. Then I placed 2 meringue swirls on the top of the cake, arranged a mixture of white-chocolate-dipped strawberries and plain strawberries on top of them and sprinkled a few more pieces of crushed meringue on top.

This is less Eton Mess, more eaten messy (and very quickly)!

Happy Birthday! Enjoy! x