Week 50 - Windsor Mess

Happy Christmas everyone! I hope you've all had a lovely break? Me, I had lovely few days relaxing at my Mum's, thankfully I managed to shake off the cold I had & my appetite returned to something resembling normal. I hope you were all good this year & Santa brought you lots of lovely things? I had an early Christmas present on Christmas Eve, the local paper published an article about my year long baking, blogging challenge! The article also invited readers to send in suggestions for my final recipe...it is only 2 weeks away, yikes! I extend that invitation to you too, if you think I've missed an essential recipe, or you have a favourite you'd like to suggest I'd love to hear from you. Just leave a comment on this post or send me an email at rebeccabakescakes@hotmail.com. I was quite chuffed with the article, although having my photo taken in my kitchen was a little stressful! Click here to have a look at the online version of the article.

So this weeks recipe is a dessert rather than a cake, but after copious amounts of Christmas cake, mince pies & Christmas pudding over the last week, I thought this might be a welcome change. It's my twist on the classic Eton Mess, as I live just a hop over the bridge in Windsor, I thought I'd call it a Windsor Mess (apologies if this is already copywritten or in existence!) Eton Mess is made with raspberries & for me tastes like Summer, my version uses spiced oranges & tastes altogether more wintry & Christmassy! I also added orange rind to the meringue which gives a really subtle flavour.

For the meringue
2 egg whites
100g caster sugar
Grated rind of 1 orange

For the orange sauce
40g butter
120g demerera sugar
1 tsp mixed spice
2 tbps water
3 large oranges

Pot of whipping cream

1. Beat the egg whites until stiff, add half the sugar & orange rind then beat some more until they go stiff again. Finally fold in the other half of the sugar with a spoon. Line a baking sheet with baking paper, place dollops of the mixture onto the tray & pop in the oven at 130c/GM1 for a couple of hours until they have dried out & are crisp. My batch made 6 meringues.

2. To make the orange sauce, place the butter, sugar, spice & water into a pan. Heat gently until melted together, then bring up to the boil & bubble for a couple of minutes, take off the heat.

3. Top & tail the oranges, then carefully slice down the sides to remove all the skin & pith, then cut into small chunks. Stir the oranges into the caramel sauce & leave to cool completely. Finally whip the cream until it forms soft peaks.

4. Now for the construction! I used my martini glasses, but a sundae dish would be just as good. Take 1 of the meringues & break it into small pieces, place a spoonful of oranges in the bottom of the glass, then sprinkle over half of the crushed meringue. Add a layer of cream, the some more oranges & a couple of spoonfuls of the sauce. Finally sprinkle the rest of the meringue over the top.

I really liked this combination of the tangy oranges with the sweet caramel sauce, meringue & cream. It's perfect if you have people over for dinner as you can make everything in advance & just throw it together when you're ready to serve, well it is meant to be a mess!

All that's left for me to do is wish you a very Happy New Year, Rebecca x

p.s. don't forget to suggest a recipe for my final week!