Lemon Tart Eton Mess Recipe

A traditional Eton Mess is made of strawberries, meringue and whipped cream. These ingredients are mixed and layered together to create the crunchy and creamy textures that Eton Mess is known for. The berries can often be swapped out for other soft fruit, like bananas. 

The name for Eton Mess comes from England, where it was popular at a prestigious boy’s college called Eton College. While there are different stories around the name, the most popular is that a pavlova dessert was created to celebrate a cricket match. However, the dessert was squashed by a Labrador, but it was still served up in a messy, deconstructed form. Over time the dessert became a popular staple in British cuisine. 

Pavlova and Eton Mess are both popular desserts in British cuisine, but they’re very different in their texture, assembly and use of ingredients.
One of the main differences is the meringue. Pavlova is primarily a meringue-based dessert and is often baked to have a soft interior, with the outside being crispy. While an Eton Mess contains meringue, it’s broken down into smaller pieces, and doesn’t make up the main structure of the desert. Instead, whipped cream is the fundamental ingredient, creating a creamy texture. 
Another main difference in how the desserts are assembled. Pavlova typically has a crater-like centre, filled with whipped cream and fruit. Eton Mess, on the other hand, has meringue pieces, mixed with whipped cream and strawberries and is often served in a bowl.