Bananas Foster Eton Mess

bananas foster eton mess

bananas foster eton mess

Last week, we talked all about meringue so it’s only fitting that today we make some! This bananas foster Eton mess is essentially a big crunchy, marshmallow-y pillow of baked French meringue topped with whipped cream and bananas swimming in a rum caramel sauce. Literally, what else could you need?

I like any desserts that are called “mess” because it makes me feel like the decorative bar is set so low. The Eton Mess is the ultimate lazy show-stopper. It made it’s first appearance in England in the late 1800s at Eton College’s cricket match (hence the name) and traditionally consists of just meringue, whipped cream, and strawberries. But you guys know how we feel about tradition around here, so I took the liberty of subbing our strawberries for bananas foster. Eton mess is a such a beautiful dessert to showcase whatever fruit you have in season, don’t limit yourself!

For this particular version, a French meringue is spread into a big circle on a sheet pan and then baked low and slow until crisp and the bottom easily releases from the pan. While the meringue is cooling, a simple brown sugar, rum, butter-filled caramel sauce is made and a few past-their-prime bananas are tossed in. Heavy cream gets whipped with a little sweetened condensed milk and everything is very slouchily piled high on the meringue. One thing to note, none of the components of this dessert hold very well on their own and so when you put them together, you have a beautiful dessert that needs to be eaten immediately. If you are making this for a dinner party or other evening soiree, I recommend baking the meringue sometime in the late afternoon, and then making the caramel and whipped cream just before serving (they are both very quick to toss together). Serve immediately after assembling or you will find yourself in a puddle of sweet cream and caramel, which is honestly not a bad thing, but also not exactly what we are going for here.

Yield: makes one large desserts, serves 8-10
Author: Anna Ramiz
Bananas Foster Eton Mess

Bananas Foster Eton Mess

Prep time: 30 MinCook time: 2 HourTotal time: 2 H & 30 M
Instead of the traditional strawberries, this Eton Mess is made of a crisp, marshmallow-like baked meringue topped with bananas swimming in rum caramel and lots of homemade whipped cream.

Ingredients

for the french meringue
  • 200 g (about 5-6) egg whites
  • 350 g (1 3/4 cup) granulated sugar
for the bananas foster
  • 3 ripe bananas, sliced
  • 4 tbsp (57 g) unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup (110 g) brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp coffee liqueur
  • 2 tbsp heavy cream
  • Pinch of salt
for the whipped cream
  • 1 cup (227 g) heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup (78 g) sweetened condensed milk
  • 1/2 cup toasted walnuts, optional 

Instructions

to make the meringue
  1. Preheat oven to 200° F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside.
  2. Place egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and begin whipping on medium speed. When the egg whites begin to froth, gradually stream in sugar while the mixer continues to run. When all of the sugar has been added, increase the mixer speed to medium-high and continue to whip until smooth and glossy and medium peaks form.
  3. Pour meringue onto your prepared baking sheet and use an offset spatula to smooth into a circle, about 9” in diameter.
  4. Bake for 1 to 1- 1/2 hours, until meringue is dry and crispy and easily releases from the bottom of the pan. Set aside to cool.
to make the bananas foster
  1. Set a large skillet over medium heat. Add the butter and brown sugar to the pan and cook without stirring, until butter is melted. When the butter is melted, you can begin to whisk the caramel occasionally. Continue to cook for 5-7 minutes, until brown sugar is dissolved and caramel is deep brown and bubbling. Whisk until smooth and homogenized.
  2. Carefully whisk in coffee liqueur and heavy cream and cook for 1-2 minutes more. Stir in bananas and salt and remove from heat to cool slightly while you make the whipped cream.
to make the whipped cream and assemble
  1. Place heavy cream in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Begin whipping on medium-low speed, until frothy and then gradually increase speed. When the cream has reached soft peaks, add the sweetened condensed milk and then continue to whip until whipped cream has reach medium peaks.
  2. Spread half of the whipped cream over the meringue. Spoon bananas and caramel on top of the whipped cream, followed by the remaining whipped cream and toasted walnuts. Serve immediately.

Notes:

  • a note on "peaks": Most of the time, meringue done-ness is discussed in terms of peaks—soft, medium or stiff. I usually like to explain the difference between the three by using pictures, but I’ll try to use my words to help you create a picture in your head. When you remove the whisk from the bowl, the meringue at the top should create a tip. If the tip immediately falls back over onto itself, you’ve reached the soft peak stage. If the tip stays upright, but the very top of it falls back onto itself creating a little wave look, you’ve reached medium peaks. If, when you pull the whisk out of the bowl, the tip stands upright, you’ve reached the stiff peak stage. **This also applies to whipped cream**
  • None of the components of this dessert hold very well on their own and so when you put them together, you have a beautiful dessert that needs to be eaten immediately. If you are making this for a dinner party or other evening soiree, I recommend baking the meringue sometime in the late afternoon, and then making the caramel and whipped cream just before serving (they are both very quick to toss together). Serve immediately after assembling or you will find yourself in a puddle of sweet cream and caramel, which is honestly not a bad thing, but also not exactly what we are going for here.


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Brown Sugar Pavlovas with Mascarpone Cream

My husband and I have never been out to dinner for Valentine’s Day. On our first Valentine’s Day together, only a couple months after we started dating back in college, my husband took me on a picnic. He had spent the morning tucking homemade sandwiches and cookies into a cute little picnic basket and afterwards we went to Barnes and Noble. Since I don’t love eating in the grass, we don’t picnic as much anymore but we always make something a little messy and labor intensive together for a special dinner at home. We love being in the kitchen together and so we celebrate each other by doing something that we enjoy! In the past we’ve made gnocchi, homemade pasta, beef bourginon…anything that takes a little extra effort. This year we are making chicken bhuna (which is my favorite Indian curry) and homemade naan. Love is in the air!

Also since it’s Valentine’s week, your Instagram feed is probably starting to look a little like fifty shades of chocolate, so I thought I would switch it up and give you these brown sugar pavlovas. Sometimes, meringues and pavlovas can be overly sweet and not my favorite dessert, but the addition of brown sugar gives these a more rounded, caramelized flavor. The mildness of the mascarpone and sharpness of the fruit also helps to off set that sweetness. These are great to help you use up leftover egg whites and fruit that is starting to go bad. I used a little of the leftover beet creme anglaise to give the mascarpone cream that pink tint, but you could definitely leave it out or play with adding another flavor (strawberry or raspberry jam would be great). They are also fun to decorate so I encourage you to play around with them!

Brown Sugar Pavlovas with Mascarpone Cream

Yield: 4- 4” pavlovas

Ingredients: 

for the pavlovas: 

3 egg whites (125 g)

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

for the mascarpone cream:

1/2 cup mascarpone cheese

1/2 heavy cream

2 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp beet creme anglaise *optional*

Procedure: 

For the pavlovas: 

  1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Use a ramekin or round bowl to trace 4 4” circles on a piece of parchment paper. Flip the parchment over so that the lines are on the bottom side and place it on a sheet pan. 

  2. Whisk egg whites, sugar, and brown sugar together in a heat proof bowl and place over a medium saucepan with simmering water. Cook, whisking often until warm and frothy and the sugar is dissolved. Transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer. 

  3. Beat with the whisk attachment on medium high speed until stiff peaks form and meringue is cool and glossy (about 5 minutes). 

  4. Divide the meringue into 4 and spread inside the drawn circles. Create a small nest by pushing the sides a little higher than the center. 

  5. Bake for 40 minutes, until meringues are dry and can be gently lifted off of the pan. Turn oven off and let meringues cool in the oven for at least 1 hour. 

For the mascarpone cream: 

  1. Place all ingredients in the bowl of a standing mixer and whip until smooth and soft peaks form. Don’t over mix or the mixture will become gritty. 

To assemble: 

1. Filled cool meringue nests with mascarpone cream and top with fresh fruit and herbs.