A Fine Mess

little precision can do a lot for Eton mess. The iconic mash-up of macerated strawberries, swoopy cream, and broken meringue trades on its thrown-together charm, whether you believe it materialized at the posh British boarding school when a bouncy labrador crushed a pavlova or at a Victorian engagement party. But the elements’ sublime contrast is what made the dessert worth repeating, so why not design a version around that? Berries that don’t just punctuate the cream but ripple through it. Meringue that isn’t hard or tacky—often the curse of store-bought—but uniformly crisp.