Eton Mess With Fresh Strawberries

Eton mess is a popular British dessert. Kimbal Musk, together with chef Hugo Matheson, founded The Kitchen restaurant, where the dish appears on the dessert menu. Laurie Smith

Thanks to Chef Hugo Matheson, one of the restaurant’s co-founders and a British immigrant, we’ve had some version of Eton Mess, a popular British dessert, on the menu for years. It is an easy crowd-pleaser when you cook for your community. Make the meringues ahead of time. Then, to serve, all you need to do is whip the cream and put it all together.

Serves 6 to 8

• 1 cup heavy cream, well chilled
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• About 30 small classic vanilla meringues (recipe follows)
• 1 pound fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced

Pour the cream into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip on low speed until the cream begins to thicken. Once the cream has thickened slightly, pour in the sugar. Bring up the speed to medium and continue to whip until the cream begins to show soft peaks.