Christmas Eton Mess with Cranberries and Star Anise

This Christmas Eton Mess is a fun and fruity dessert. Made with a cranberry and star anise compote and Christmas Elf Meringue Kisses it is a lighter alternative to the Christmas pud!

Christmas desserts

At this time of year I am always looking for simple but impressive looking dishes. I know I’m not the only one who struggles to find time over the Christmas period for doing all the things we are meant to do: Christmas shopping; entertaining friends and family; making home made gifts; Christmas parties – all at the same time as running a home and working full time.

It seems that every meal at Christmas has to be a big feast: a three course meal, maybe four if you add a cheeseboard! But creating these meals is made even harder when you need to come up with a Christmas dessert. Christmas Eton Mess is my attempt at making a festive pudding that doesn’t take up too much time when you’ve got all of the other courses to be worrying about.

What is an Eton Mess?

An Eton mess is a traditional English pudding that is made by mixing macerated strawberries (or other berries) with crushed meringue, and whipped cream. It’s thought to have originated in the historic Eton college and was written about way back in the 1800’s. It doesn’t get more traditional than that. 

I’ve made it festive by swapping the strawberries for cranberries. Clever right?

How to make Christmas Eton Mess

My recipe for Christmas Eton Mess with Cranberries and Star Anise is a response to having very little time but needing to put a tasty pudding on the table one evening in the week. It’s as simple as putting a punnet of cranberries in a pan with sugar and star anise, bringing it to a boil and cooking it down until a thick, syrupy sauce forms. This is then stirred together with freshly whipped cream and crumbled meringue is folded through. Add a couple of silver or gold sprinkles and you have something really special with very little effort at all.

The Recipe

Life is too short to stress about putting a work of art on the table every night. Serve up this Christmas Eton Mess and you will have happy friends and family without sweating in the kitchen for more than 15 minutes!

Christmas Eton Mess with Cranberries and Star Anise

Emma

Give the classic Eton Mess dessert a Christmas twist with star anise!

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine British

Servings 6 people

Calories 550.45 kcal

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• 300 grams cranberries fresh
• 3 tbsp orange juice
• 250 grams caster sugar
• 2 star anise
• 600 millilitres whipping cream
• 28 meringue kisses or 4 store bought meringue nests

Instructions

 

• Place the fresh cranberries into a heavy bottom pan with the orange juice, sugar and star anise.
• Heat the fruit, sugar and spice on a medium-high heat until the cranberries have burst and the sugar has melted.
• Reduce the heat to medium and cook for roughly 10 minutes, stirring frequently until a compote has formed,
• Remove from the heat and leave to cool completely.
• Once the compote has cooled, pour the whipping cream into a large bowl and whisk on high for 2-4 minutes until light and fluffy.
• Crumble the meringues into the cream then stir through the compote leaving bright red streaks through the cream.
• Serve in glass dishes.

Notes

The compote can keep in an airtight jar for up to 3 weeks so you can whip up a Christmas Eton Mess whenever required.

Nutrition

Calories: 550.45kcalCarbohydrates: 51.61gProtein: 2.38gFat: 37.15gSaturated Fat: 23.06gCholesterol: 137mgSodium: 39.16mgPotassium: 139.3mgFiber: 2.36gSugar: 44.51gVitamin A: 1518.04IUVitamin C: 11.57mgCalcium: 72.09mgIron: 0.29mg

Keyword caster sugar, cranberries, meringue, orange juice, star anise, whipping cream

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

More Christmas recipes

I’ll be relying heavily on some of my favourite simple recipes as we get closer and closer to Christmas. We’ve still got visits to friends and family, carol services, Christmas parties and more planned with only a week until the big day. This Mushroom and Walnut Tart will no doubt feature on our dinner table in the not too distant future. I wouldn’t be surprised if I whip up another batch of these Dark Chocolate and Peppermint Stars too!

Here are some more Christmas dishes to serve as part of your Christmas feast.

Chestnut and Mushroom Pâté

Festive Beef Wellington

Truffled Root Vegetable Gratin

Boozy Chocolate Truffles

How do you cope at this time of year? Do you have some simple yet delicious recipe like this Christmas Eton Mess ready to go at the drop of a hat? Let me know in the comments below!