Eton mess with strawberries and nectarines

Summer finally arrived here in Switzerland. With the heat and sunshine a lot of other great things are around again. Locally grown Swiss strawberries for example.

I totally love strawberries and could eat them all day everyday! So I'm basically waiting for them all year long. And once they are available there is basically no way of not incoporating them into my desserts. Of course there also a lot of other great fruits and berries getting in season. I don't know about you, but summer is certainly my favourite season of the year. All the produce being avaible is one reason for it for sure.

So let me introduce you to this light and creamy eton mess. It's basically a dream of a dessert. Crunchy meringue pieces, with a slightly soft inside, topped with delicous thick double cream and fresh strawberries and nectarines. Sprinkle it with some pepper and vanilla  and add some fresh mint leaves for a perfect finish.
Besides having an amazing taste it is also very appealing to the eye. So your guests and friends or who ever you share this dessert with (maybe you should  just eat it all yourself) will be blown away.

So I won't bore you with stories about my love for strawberries or summer any longer, but just share the recipe with you! Enjoy!

The meringue is already vegan, so in order to make the wohle thing a vegan dessert just use coconut cream instead of double cream (or something similar).

Recipe (for about 6 people)

For the meringue:
- 130g of aquafaba (chickpea water)
- 6 tablespoons of sugar
- some vanilla extract

Beat the aquafaba slowely until little bubbles form. Then beat it on faster speed. When it's all white and fluffy slowely add the sugar tablespoon by tablespoon. In the end add the vanilla extract. Form small circles of meringue on a baking sheet. And bake them for 1h 45 min at 110°C degrees.

- 380g of double cream
- 2 nectarines
- about 20 strawberries
- some caramelized hazelnuts
- mint leaves
- some pepper and vanilla powder

Break the meringues slightly apart and put them on a plate. Cover it with the double cream. Cut the strawberries and nectarines. Top the meringue with the fruit slices, the pepper and vanilla powder and the nuts and the mint leaves. And serve it right away!