Black Forest Eton Mess with Cherries and Chocolate

This black forest Eton mess trifle has layers of sweet crumbled meringue, velvety whipped cream, cherry brandy compote and smooth chocolate ganache. Because you can use fresh or canned cherries, you can make this dessert year-round, whether it’s a hot summer day or the winter holidays.

For more meringue desserts, also check out these easy cardamom meringue cookies and this s'mores tart.

Jump to:

• What is Eton mess?
• Recipe and ingredient notes and tips:
• What type of cherry should I use?
• How to make it:
• More delicious individual trifle desserts:
• Full Printable Recipe
• Comments

What is Eton mess?

Eton mess is a traditional British dessert trifle made with layers of crumbled meringue, whipped cream and fruit.

Apparently the dessert is traditionally served at Eton College’s annual cricket match. It was invented in one way or another (different sources tell different stories here) at the school.

The Eton mess recipe I created here is made with a crunchy but very delicate meringue that is softened by vanilla whipped cream. The cream is coated with a blanket of creamy chocolate ganache and topped with juicy cherries cooked in brandy. (You can use fresh or canned cherries.)

It's a stellar dessert for any holiday celebration, whether it's the Fourth of July or the winter holidays.

Recipe and ingredient notes and tips:

• Be sure to use chocolate bars and not morsels, morsels have stabilizers in them that prevent them from melting properly.
• When you make the ganache and end up with a few remaining chocolate clumps, heat the mix over a pot of simmering water and continue to whisk until all the chocolate is melted.

What type of cherry should I use?

You can use either fresh or canned cherries to make the cherry compote.

Fresh cherries:

If you're using fresh cherries, you have the choice between dark sweet cherries or sour cherries. Both types work very well for this trifle. If you're using sweet cherries you'll want to add fresh lemon juice to the compote for a bit of tartness. Skip the lemon juice if you're using sour cherries.

Canned cherries:

If you're using a canned cherry variety, I recommend red tart cherries.

How to make it:

This dessert is not difficult to make but it does take time. That's because the meringue takes a while to bake and because this dessert tastes best after it's had a few hours in the fridge.

See full ingredients & instructions in the recipe card below!

Make the meringue:

Step 1. Heat the oven to 275 degrees F. Whip egg whites, vanilla extract and cream of tartar until they almost hold soft peaks.

Step 2. Slowly but steadily whip in the sugar. Once all the sugar is incorporated, you will end up with a very firm meringue.

Bake the meringue:

Step 3. Spoon the meringue into 8 round little nests onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes.

Step 4. Turn the oven off and without opening the oven door, let the meringues cool in the oven for another hour.

Make the cherry compote:

Step 5. Add whichever type of cherries you are using to a saucepan. Add sugar, brandy and, if you're using dark sweet cherries, lemon juice.

Step 6. Cook, uncovered, until the cherries start to break down (about 20 minutes). Let cool.

Make the ganache:

Step 7. Add sweet chocolate (milk chocolate or German chocolate) and bittersweet chocolate to a bowl. Bring heavy cream to a boil and pour over the chocolate. Let the mix sit for a minute.

Step 8. Whisk into a smooth ganache.

Crumble the meringue and make the whipped cream:

Step 9. Crumble the meringue into a bowl and set aside.

Step 10. Whip heavy cream with sugar and vanilla extract to stiff peaks.

Assemble the trifles:

You have two options for how to serve this trifle:

• in individual portions or
• in one big bowl that you spoon the dessert out of and distribute onto plates or bowls.

Individual trifles in tall glasses are pictured in the photo at the top of this page. The large bowl option is shown in the photo below. (I made the individual portions with dark sweet cherries and the trifle in the bowl with sour cherries.)

Whichever serving option you choose, you want to layer the trifle in the following order (from bottom to top):

1. meringue crumbles
2. whipped cream
3. ganache
4. cherry compote (discard excess juice from the compote)

It’s important to keep that order because the whipped cream needs to sit on top of the meringue to soften it.

Chill the trifles:

I recommend to let the fully assembled Eton mess sit in the fridge for about 4 hours before serving. That way the crumbled meringue can soften a bit.

More delicious individual trifle desserts:

See more dessert recipes →

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Full Printable Recipe