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Eggless Eton Mess

Vegan Eton Mess

  • Heat None
  • Serves 4
  • Dietary Info VEGETARIAN VEGAN CONTAINS-COCONUT LACTOSE-FREE DAIRY-FREE WHEAT-FREE GLUTEN-FREE
  • Prep 30 mins
  • Cook 2 hrs

Hari says

The first time I saw these meringues being made was at the London Produce Show and I was totally amazed! Meringues without eggs!? How is that even possible, and with chickpea water!? My mind was blown and I ran home and I tried it over and over again.

It's true that you really can make meringues from the water in the tins of chickpeas AKA aquafaba ('water-bean'). The starchy water has amazing qualities so if you whip it, it produces a light foam like egg whites do. You can add stabilisers such as sugar or cream of tartar to this foam so it doesn't collapse. This fluffy foam can then be added to a number of dishes as a vegan option.

Anyway, I love an Eton mess, it's a real summer pudding for me so here is my version made with some vegan options and a hint of Indian flavour through the rose water but you can just use strawberries and cream if you prefer. To whip the coconut milk, it needs to be really cold - if you don't have time to refrigerate a tin of coconut milk, you can use it as is and whip it a little but it won't get as thick. 

  • Ingredients
  • Method

Aquafaba meringues

  • 400g of tin of chickpeas
  • 110g of caster sugar
  • 1/8 tsp cream of tartar

Coconut cream

  • 400g can of full-fat, unsweetened coconut milk
  • 3 tablespoons icing sugar

Fruit

  • 500g raspberries, strawberries, mixed berries or any fruit you like
  • 2 tsp rosewater 

Method

Aquafaba meringues

  1. Drain a tin of chickpeas saving the water (aquafaba).
  2. Preheat the oven to 130°C and line 2 baking sheets with baking parchment paper.
  3. Whisk the aquafaba in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment at high speed for at least 20 minutes until you get stiff white peaks.
  4. Add the sugar to the aquafaba one tablespoon at a time and whisk well after each addition until the sugar granules dissolve. The meringue mixture should turn thick and become glossy when it’s ready.
  5. Put spoonfuls of the meringue mixture onto the lined baking sheets, leaving spaces between them. You can also put it into a piping bag and pipe the meringues too.
  6. Put the trays in the oven and bake for 1 hour 45 mins - 2 hours until the meringues are fairly firm on top and on the base.
  7. When ready, either remove from the oven and leave to cool completely or switch off the oven and leave them to cool before removing them from the parchment. Once cooled, they should be light and crisp.

Coconut cream

  1. Place the can of coconut milk in the fridge overnight so that the cream solidifies and separates from the water.
  2. Flip the tin over and open it so it is easier to pour the coconut water off.
  3. Scrape the coconut cream into a bowl.
  4. Sift in the icing sugar and whisk together until it's soft and creamy.

Raspberries

  1. Mix the berries and rosewater together and leave to steep for 15-20 minutes.

Making the mess

  1. Crush the meringues, pour in the coconut cream and berries and mix together - serve!

This goes well with

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