Day 81: Messes

There are three reasons for me making so many desserts lately. Firstly, until recently, I had made very few and, therefore, did not want to leave it until the end of the Challenge and have to make a heap of desserts. Secondly, I actually have time to make dessert as it’s not the usual crazy madness it is in our house during term-time. Thirdly, it’s summer (allegedly!) and so desserts and summer go hand-in-hand. Now, if only we could have more sunshine, we’d be sorted. We live in hope for yet another Indian summer (!).

Dear Husband got a special wedding anniversary dinner this evening which meant he had his food order placed early this morning – steak (from Grant’s Butchers), onion rings, mushrooms, pepper sauce and potatoes. Oh yes, forgot to mention the ‘discussion’ we had prior to that whereby Dear Husband tried to convince me that tomorrow was actually our wedding anniversary, not today. And yes, I did catch him sneaking back from the shop with a coloured paper bag from the newsagents. No prizes for guessing what was in the bag. For some strange reason, he always thinks it’s the 31^st July. Anyway, the deal was that he could have whatever dinner he wanted this evening and then he’s taking me out for dinner tomorrow evening. I was amazed at how many people mentioned to me today that they hoped Dear Husband was cooking for me tonight. I really wanted to say that I really hoped he wasn’t. Beans and toast doesn’t exactly cut it for me when it comes to anniversary dinners.  

When it came to dessert, I wanted to make the remaining two Messes so I made Blueberry mess and Mango and raspberry mess. For the Blueberry mess, I sprinkled caster sugar over blueberries and then added them to whipped cream and crumbled store-bought meringues. I simply folded everything in and served up.

For the Mango and raspberry mess, I fought with a mango again tonight. I tried to dice it a different way though – I sliced it and then cut it away from the skin. A better attempt than I made last night. Just like above, I folded in the fruit to the whipped cream and meringue.

The verdict…

I ate both types. I gave the Blueberry Mess 5 marks out of 10 and the Mango and Raspberry one 8 out of 10. Dear Husband just had the Mango and Raspberry Mess and awarded it an incredible 9 marks out of 10. These two versions of messes were simpler and quicker than the night I made the Banoffee Mess. Of the three, the mango one is probably my favourite with the blueberry one being my least favourite. I just felt like the blueberry one was the blandest whilst the mango and raspberry one had a bit of sweet-bitterness going on because of the mango and raspberries. There is no doubt that the Banoffee Mess is Dear Husband’s favourite of the three while I think it’s just far too sweet for me. Although meringues and cream are a favourite of mine, I feel it will be a while before I have them again.