Eton Mess Cake – Inspired by the classic dessert, this cake combines crisp meringues, sweetened cream, fresh berries – layered between an airy sponge cake. A new layer cake recipe by our contributor, Tessa Huff. A combination of crisp meringues, sweetened cream, and fresh berries, Eton Mess is a perfect balance of flavors and textures.  Simple, fresh, and kind of “messy,” this classic British dessert is easy to throw together and versatile.  You can event change it up by infusing the cream or swapping in any seasonal fruit you have on hand and you’re all set!

While Eton Mess was created with “simplicity” and “ease” in mind (assuming you keep meringue cookies on hand), this Eton Mess Cake takes it up a notch.  The whipped cream, sweet fruit, and crunchy meringues pair so beautifully together, I thought why not transform the components of Eton Mess itself into a cake filling?  Similar to a strawberry shortcake, this light and fresh layer cake is perfect for spring and the warmer months ahead.

In order to not weigh down the pillowy whipped cream and airy meringue, I created this variation of a sponge cake.  Unlike other butter or pound cakes that can be rather dense, this cake is light, airy, yet still provides structure and stability within a sky-high layer cake.  Once layered together, the crispy meringue bits nearly melt into the cream – each bite a perfect harmony of texture and sweetness.  Fresh berries always seem synonymous with spring and summer to me, but feel free to use whatever fruit you have on hand!

Berries have always been my favorite of the fruits. Strawberries, in particular. I remember back in college, my husband (then boyfriend) and I would always look forward to visiting his family on the coast of North Carolina in May. School was out for the summer and we knew all the strawberry patches around them were ripe for the picking! We’d go and get several cartons – both to eat and to take back to my family in Charlotte. Some of the best strawberries!

Now living in Georgia, I’ve been told there are some really great blueberry farms around where you can go pick them and we’ve never done it. I think it’s about time we fix that! I know freshly picked strawberries are extra tasty, so I’d imagine blueberries would be the same.

These cupcakes contain the flavor of both blueberries and strawberries, along with raspberries. My favorite triple berry combo! To achieve the berry flavor in the frosting without thinning it out too much with a bunch of berry puree, I used a freeze dried berry mix. It worked like a charm! I got mine at Target, but they can often be found at grocery stores too. You don’t need a lot. Less than 1 oz is plenty to get a full cup of the berries to grind into a powder. The cup of berries gave me about ¼ cup of powder, which was the perfect amount for the frosting.

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