Eton Mess Cake
This Eton Mess Cake has two layers of strawberry cake, and is topped with fresh cream, meringue, fresh strawberries and strawberry jam, just like the classic Eton Mess.
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Eton Mess Cake
I love baking in the summer, I love all the lighter, fruity bakes, and this Eton Mess Cake is no different.
If you haven’t come across Eton Mess before, it is an absolutely delicious dessert. It is traditionally made up of Strawberries, meringues and whipped cream. This cake has every element of Eton Mess in cake form. With fresh Strawberries in the cake and topping, fresh whipped cream, crushed meringues and strawberry jam.
Strawberry Cake
This is a super-easy and basic cake to make. It is one of my favourite cake recipes to make and is utterly delicious. It is a classic cake recipe made using:
Self-Raising Flour – You need to use self-raising flour in this recipe. If you don’t have self-raising flour, use plain flour and add 1 extra teaspoon of baking powder.
Caster Sugar – I recommend using caster sugar in this recipe.
Butter – You can use either unsalted butter or a baking spread in this cake. It is completely personal preference.
Related Recipes
Eggs – I used 7 eggs in this recipe. I use 1 egg for every 50g of caster sugar I use.
Vanilla Extract – I use Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Extract. It is my absolute favourite and gives the cake a delicious flavour.
Raising Agent – I used a teaspoon of baking powder in this recipe.
Strawberries – I used fresh strawberries in this cake. You can use frozen strawberries, too, if you prefer. There will be extra moisture, though, so you may need to bake the cakes for longer. These are completely optional, you can make this cake without the strawberries if you prefer.
The cake does need to be kept in the fridge after baking and decorating because of the fresh strawberries and fresh cream.
I never recommend keeping a cake in the fridge because it dries it out pretty quickly but, in this case, there isn’t really a choice. It does mean that this cake won’t keep as long as other cakes.
Baking
I baked this cake in two 8” cake tins. I recommend baking for 35-40 minutes, but this is totally dependent on your oven.
Every oven will bake in different ways and at different speeds, even if they are the same make and model. If you are unsure if your oven is baking at the correct temperature, you can buy an oven thermometer relatively inexpensively online.
Once the cake has baked, it needs to be cooled completely before you decorate, otherwise the double cream will just melt.
If your cakes have domed slightly in the oven, you can cool them upside down on a wire cooling rack. The weight of the cake will flatten the dome. You can also level them off using a cake leveller.
Decoration
Decorating a cake is my absolute favourite part. I whipped up some double cream to use both on the top and in the centre of the cake. The double cream needs to be whipped to form stiff peaks before being spread on the top of one of your cakes.
I then drizzled over some strawberry jam. I find that the easiest way to do this is to heat the jam up in the microwave for 10 seconds to soften it slightly.
For the middle of the cakes, I cut up the strawberries into chunks and sprinkled them over, then added some crushed up meringues, before adding the second cake on top.
For the top cake, I added whole strawberries, but you could cut them up and sprinkle them over the chunks instead. I didn’t want to make the decoration too pretty as it is an Eton Mess cake, so I just sprinkled the meringue over and drizzled some strawberry jam too.
Alternatives
Traditionally, Eton Mess is made using strawberries, but you could mix it up and use any kind of berries you want.
If you prefer to, you can leave the strawberries out of the cake.
Alternatively, you can use frozen strawberries in the cake. The cakes will take slightly longer to bake, though, due to the extra moisture.
You could also sprinkle over freeze-dried strawberries instead of fresh strawberries.
Equipment
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Eton Mess Cake
Ingredients
For the Eton Mess Cake
- 325 g Caster Sugar
- 325 g Unsalted Butter or Baking Spread
- 325 g Self-Raising Flour
- 7 Large Eggs
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 150 g Strawberries (halved and quartered)
For the Filling and Decoration
- 600 ml Double Cream
- 200 g Strawberry Jam
- 200 g Strawberries
- 7-8 Meringue Nests
Instructions
To Make the Eton Mess Cake
- Preheat the oven to 180C (160C Fan). Line two 8” cake tins with greaseproof paper and leave to one side.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy.
- Add in the flour, eggs and baking powder. and whisk until they are combined.
- Fold through the strawberries.
- Pour the mixture into the individual cake tins and bake in the oven for 35 – 40 minutes. You will know they are ready when they are springy to the touch.
- Leave them to cool in the cake tin for 15-20 minutes and then remove and put them on a wire rack to cool fully.
To Decorate
- Once your cakes have cooled, whisk the double cream until stiff peaks.
- Put the strawberry jam into a piping bag and pop it into the microwave for 10-20 seconds to soften.
- Cut half of the strawberries into halves and quarters and leave to one side.
- Place the first cake onto your serving plate. Spread half the double cream over the top of the cake.
- Drizzle over the strawberry jam, crush over some meringue and add some of your chopped strawberries on top.
- Add your second cake on top and spread the remaining cream on top. Finish by drizzling over the remaining strawberry jam, crushing over meringues and adding some whole strawberries.
Notes
- This Eton Mess cake will last 1-2 days in the fridge.
- Alternatively, you can use frozen strawberries in the cake. The cakes will take slightly longer to bake, though, due to the extra moisture.
- I use these cake tins.
- You could also sprinkle over freeze-dried strawberries instead of fresh strawberries.