What is an Eton Mess Cake and How Do You Make It?

I'll admit it. Until my friend, Patty Millay said she was going to make an Eton Mess Cake for the What's Cookin'? segment of my radio show, I had never heard of one. And, because I am basically a child when it comes to willpower, I immediately rushed over to YouTube to see if there were some recipes for it. As usual, YouTube delivered!

And there are a lot more videos where that one came from and there are a lot of variations on the Eton Mess. Some are desserts . . .

Some are even made of pancakes!

My friend Patty is really creative too and I am excited that I get to share her recipe. Patty is the queen of shortcuts and came up with an easy way to bake this cake in a fraction of the time the original recipe calls for.

Here's a photo of her masterpiece!

Patty Millay

From Patty:

I fell in love with the name of this cake and it's so pretty on a plate! That's all it took for me to pick this for our Valentine dessert! Light, easy to make and we'll call it a "healthy" choice due to all the berries!

I don't have time or the patience to sift flour and bake meringues for an hour and a half! I took the cheaters way with this and I have NO complaints on how it turned out.

ETON MESS CAKE

2 boxes of pound cake mix (Patty prefers White Lily)

3 cups berries

4 eggs

3 sticks of butter

2 tsp vanilla

3 tsp lemon juice

white vanilla melting discs

1 large tub of Cool Whip

FOR THE CAKE:

Bake two boxed cake mixes of your choosing. Patty chose White Lily Pound Cake as directed and added one extra egg (total of 4 eggs) to the mix along with 2tsp vanilla and 2 tsp lemon juice. Divide batter into 4 round cake pans. Bake at 350* for 20 minutes.

FOR THE MERINGUES (Or, as Patty says, NOT)

Meringues are not Patty's thing. And, while the original recipe calls for true meringue, Patty found a shortcut because, in her words, "I don't pipe well." So, she found white vanilla melt chips in the cake aisle and chopped them fine for the middle layers.

FOR THE WHIPPED CREAM:

Patty says whipping cream by hand is never as sweet and delicious as Cool Whip! She says, "I have full faith in this southern staple." If you're feeling decadent, get the extra creamy or if you're trying to skinny this up, get the non-fat. Either way, is fine.

ASSEMBLY:

Exactly the same as the traditional recipe. Let your cakes cool completely then assemble with whipping cream and berries, sprinkle with chopped candy discs and repeat.

PRO TIP FROM PATTY:

There is a glaze mix in the box of pound cake. She added 1 tsp lemon juice and 1 tsp water and glazed the very top on her cake! After tasting this, however, she says she would glaze EVERY layer going forward.

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Source: An English Eton Mess Cake is the February Dessert You Never Knew You Needed [RECIPE]