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By Marcus Verberne from Roast – A very British Cookbook (Absolute Press)<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Traditionally served with strawberries, it also works well with other fresh summer fruits.

Serves 4

Prep time 10 mins

Cooking time 5 mins

Ingredients

500g strawberries, hulled (Nigel also used raspberries & blackberries)

50g caster sugar

½ vanilla pod, seeds scraped

400ml whipping cream

50ml concentrated elderflower cordial

50g icing sugar

4 small meringue nests (see recipe below)

Method

Grade the strawberries into 2 even piles. Save the best presentation strawberries for the mess, & place the remaining half of the strawberries into a saucepan with the caster sugar.

Add a couple of tablespoons of water & cook over a medium heat. As the strawberries cook they will release all their juices & boil down into a sauce.

Push the sauce through a sieve using the back of a spoon, leaving only the seeds behind.

Allow the strawberry sauce to cool in the fridge.

Put the vanilla seeds into a large bowl with the whipping cream, elderflower cordial & icing sugar.

Using a whisk, whip the cream until it reaches the soft peak stage. To check it’s at the correct stage, when lifting out the whisk, the cream should stand to a peak with the tip just curling over.

Cut the remaining strawberries in half & if there are any large ones, into quarters.

To serve, crush the meringue nests into pieces & add to the whipped cream (see recipe below for meringues).

Add a good drizzle of strawberry sauce, & most of the halved strawberries (saving a few for decorating the top).

Fold the mess together to create a rippled effect & spoon into your serving dishes.

Top with the reserved strawberries & a little more strawberry sauce.

For the meringue nests

Prep time 10 mins

Cooking time 2hrs

Ingredients

4 medium egg whites

1 tsp white wine vinegar

2 tsp boiling water

200g caster sugar

Method

Preheat the oven to 110C.

Whisk the egg whites with the vinegar & boiling water using an electric mixer for 1 minute.

Add the sugar slowly, whisking constantly, then continue to whisk for 8-10 mins until stiff & shiny.

Line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper.

Spoon the meringue mix on to the sheet in blobs roughly the size of a lemon.

Space them well apart to allow them room to expand.

Dry out in the oven for 2 hours. Allow to cool.

Meringues can be made well in advance & keep for ages in an airtight container.