Cheat's Meringue with Berries & Cream

I discovered that food cravings can be quite creepy.  Recently on Facebook, I was exchanging information with B, one of my food loving friends in Singapore (we're Food Nation citizens, remember?).  Although we're physically separated by the vast and deep blue ocean, in our own private epicurism and without any coordination of any kind, we found out that we had been thinking about the same food for several days in a row.  Call that bewitching telepathy or simply like-minded gluttony.  Either way, her food thoughts were a dead ringer for mine and vice versa!

  

The store bought meringues are perfectly sweetened, crunchy
and flavoured (strawberry, vanilla, orange etc).  Toothsome!

For instance, a day after I made this meringue dessert (and without a clue that I had had it), B said she was entertaining the thought of having Eton Mess.  Now, that common craving was quite something as this British original is not a typical dessert of choice among us Singaporeans.  In other words, it's not as common as ice kacang (shaved ice dessert) or goreng pisang (banana fritter).  I had made this meringue dessert only because berries are in season here in Australia.  Seeing how foolproof the recipe was and what a pretty after dinner pleaser this dessert could be, I went to the shop and grabbed the ready made strawberry meringues.  Yes, ready made ones, hence the recipe title "Cheat's Meringue...".  I could have made them myself but I believe we all should take short cuts whenever we can so cooking remains enjoyable (what a perfect kitchen thief's excuse!).

So, with meringues and berries on hand, there's nothing much left for me to do.  I dunked the thickened cream into the mixer, gave it a good spin and voila!  A breathtaking dessert was born in a matter of minutes. The best part was it's totally fuss-free to prepare, looks stunning and tastes absolutely divine!  It's a definite crowd pleaser, so it's a must-have item on your menu when you're entertaining guests.  As for Eton Mess, the ingredients are the same, all you have to do is crush the meringue into a serving bowl and mess it up with the cream and berries.  It's called Eton Mess not for nothing :-D.

Ingredients:

Store bought meringues

Mixed berries - raspberries, blueberries, strawberries (frozen ones are fine)

Thickened cream

Preparation:

1.  In a mixer, beat the thickened cream for 2-3 minutes until fluffy.  Do not overbeat as otherwise cream will turn into buttermilk.

2.  Scoop cream onto 1 piece of meringue.  Top with berries.  Serve immediately.

Tips:

- The meringues are usually sweetened so there's no need to add sugar when beating the cream.  

- Prepare the dessert just before serving to keep the meringue crunchy.

                      

Fearlessly Simple & Home Cooked