If you thought the combination of crunchy meringue, smooth ice cream and the juicy zing of strawberries couldn’t get any better, along comes Warner’s rhubarb gin to take the Eton mess to a whole new level.
From the humble affogato to the opulent tiramisu, we’ve been looking for ways to incorporate alcohol into our desserts for years. So don’t you think it’s interesting that we’ve never thought of ‘boozing up’ an Eton mess before?
Perhaps we were just waiting for the right alcohol to come along to match the sweet, crunchy, creamy, fruity chaos of the Eton mess.
Warner’s Distillery in the UK was the first to make pink gin a thing. Since then, that rosy hue has become a trend across the juniper all over the world.
The pink in Warner’s gin isn’t from artificial colouring though. It’s from the fresh rhubarb they introduce towards the end of the distilling process.
It not only adds that bit of blush but also a fresh, summery flavour that goes so well in a G&T – and even a gin and ginger ale.
But with a couple of tweaks to the recipe, Warner’s rhubarb gin in an Eton mess makes for one of the best grown-up desserts you’ll find.
Buy Warner’s Rhubarb Gin here.
Warner’s gin Eton mess recipe
Here’s what you need:
Makes 1 gin Eton mess – simply multiply measurements to make more
– 50ml Warner’s Rhubarb Gin
– 5 Strawberries (cut into quarters)
– small handful of blueberries
– 1tsp caster sugar
– 2 Meringue shells (broken into chunks)
– 2 Generous scoops of slightly melted* vanilla ice cream
– 1 Mint sprig
Here’s what you do:
1. In a small bowl, combine the sugar with the strawberry quarters and stir until the sugar is either dissolved or coating the strawberries.
2. Pour the Warner’s Rhubarb gin over the strawberries and leave them to soak for at least 6 hours, overnight if possible.
3. Add the strawberry gin mix to the bottom of your serving glass, followed by the meringue pieces. Press the meringue down lightly.
4. Top with ice cream – the more melty the better so the ice cream combines with the meringue, gin and strawberries.
5. Garnish with a sprig of mint and serve.
*Ordinarily, you add cream to an Eton mess, but the gin can have an unfortunate curdling effect on it. But if you allow the ice cream to melt a bit, it has a similar effect and mixes with the gin perfectly.
The sharp brightness of the gin brings so many more dimensions to a standard Eton mess recipe, cutting through the sweetness and richness of the meringues and ice cream. And its colour blends with the strawberries too.
But best of all it’s not only a pretty dessert that will impress your dinner guests, it’s also quick and easy to put together.
