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An Eton mess traybake with a fresh strawberry & vanilla sponge and everything Eton Mess – fresh cream, meringues, and even more strawberries!

Eton mess

Its no secret that I LOVE Eton mess, especially after posting my Eton mess with homemade meringues recipe the other day. Meringue + cream + strawberries is my go-to heavenly sugary creamy dessert that I want to nom nom nom all day long!

I asked my Facebook followers the other day if they had a suggestion and one happened to be this beauty – hello heaven! Honestly, how could I have not done this one sooner?! Anyway…

Traybake cakes

I have been wanted to make a next-level form of Eton mess for ages but didn’t really know how, but this was perfect! An Eton mess traybake cake! Everything you love about the classic dessert in cake form –  what could be better?!

I did some research into other recipes and some included meringue in the sponge, and some were just vanilla sponge with no strawberries, so I decided I would try the in-between. My Eton mess layer cake is lovely, and fresh, and delightful… but sometimes a traybake cake is better. My carrot cake traybake and chocolate traybake cake are some of my most popular posts!

Decoration 

I have tried baking ready-made meringues into a cake, and I wasn’t a fan! Therefore I just went for a topping of meringue instead and it worked much better! Strawberries throughout the sponge though – delightful!

The freshly whipped cream on top of the cake balances beautifully with the cake, and the crushed meringues add the crunchy texture that everyone would crave – simply delectable and delicious. I added some freeze dried strawberries for an extra fruity kick but these are completely optional or you can add some sprinkles if you would prefer!

Fruit

I find baking with fruit is one of those difficult ones, but strawberries in particular. This recipe works wonderfully with fresh strawberries at the moment as its peak strawberry season – how it would work when it’s not, I’m not sure – frozen might be better then!

However, you have to be careful. As the fruit produces so much water you don’t want to overload the mixture with strawberries so much that it just doesn’t cook, but you want enough to get the flavour! I used 350g worth of strawberries for this size sponge. 

Recipe update and adaptations 

You can try this cake with other fresh fruits, such as raspberries, blueberries, blackberries etc… I just love strawberries because Eton mess really is classically strawberry! Also, with Wimbledon coming up, it’s an ideal bake! 

I adapted this recipe in June 2019. The original sponge recipe is in the notes below – I just updated it as I much preferred the recipe this newer way, and it’s in keeping with my other traybake cake recipes! ENJOY! x

Eton Mess Traybake!

An Eton mess traybake with a fresh strawberry & vanilla sponge and everything Eton Mess - fresh cream, meringues, and even more strawberries!
Print Pin Rate
Category: Cake
Type: Traybakes
Keyword: Eton mess, Strawberry
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Decorating Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
Servings: 20 Pieces
Author: Jane's Patisserie

Ingredients

Sponge

  • 350 g unsalted butter
  • 350 g caster sugar
  • 350 g self raising flour
  • 7 medium eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 350 g strawberries (halved)
  • 2 tbsp granulated sugar (optional)

Decoration

  • 400 ml double cream
  • 2 tbsp icing sugar
  • 4-6 meringues (shop bought)
  • 250 g strawberries (halved/quartered)
  • Freeze dried strawberries

Instructions

For the Sponge!

  • Preheat your oven to 180c/160C Fan and line a 9x13" traybake tin with parchment paper!
  • With a stand mixer, beat your butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
  • Add in the eggs, flour and vanilla and beat until a lovely smooth sponge mixture is created!
  • Add your strawberries to the top of the sponge evenly - sprinkle of the granulated sugar if you are using it! (It gives a nice crunchy top!)
  • Bake the cake in the oven for 45-55 minutes! (Check with a skewer)
  • Leave the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes or so once baked, and then move to a wire rack to cool fully! (Be careful moving it as it'll be very soft!)

For the Decoration!

  • Pour your double cream into a bowl with the icing sugar, and whip until thick and spreadable.
  • Spread over the top of the cake, and then add your meringue bits and strawberries on top!
  • Sprinkle with freeze dried strawberries and serve!

Notes

  • I recommend this traybake tin!
  • This cake is best on the day of baking but can be eaten within two days.Β 
  • It needs to be stored in the fridge because of the fresh cream topping - this can sometimes dry the sponge out slightly, but the strawberries help keep it moist!
  • I used shop bought meringues in this one to demonstrate how easy it is to make - but you can easily make your own!
  • You can swap the fruit out for other fruits as well.Β 
  • The original cake recipe is
    • 200g flour/butter/sugar and 4 medium eggs with 2tbsp double cream and 200g strawberries baked into a 10" tin.Β 

Enjoy!!

You can find my other Cake Recipes on my Recipes Page!

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J x

Β© Jane’s Patisserie. All images & content are copyright protected. Do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words and credit me, or link back to this post for the recipe.

59 Comments

  1. Lynsey on June 24, 2023 at 8:36 pm

    5 stars
    Can this be made with gluten free flour ? Do any of the other ingredients change ?

  2. Sonya on May 30, 2023 at 2:12 pm

    Can you bake the cake night before if so how to store?

    • Jane's Patisserie on June 6, 2023 at 12:45 pm

      Hiya – it needs to be in the fridge because of the fresh cream x



  3. Ann on May 2, 2023 at 4:02 pm

    Hi
    Would this recipe work for cupcakes? I am still waiting for the right size tin to be delivered. I would like to make it for a girly gathering for when we watch the Kings coronation.

  4. Harriet on May 27, 2022 at 10:30 am

    Hi. Is there a step missing in the recipe? Just want to check, once the batter is made in stage 3 you then just pour it in to the prepared tin and top with the strawberries in stage 4? In the pictures of the finished cake it looks like the strawberries are mixed in to the sponge sandwiched I’m between two layers of the sponge? Any help would be appreciated thank you!

    • Jane's Patisserie on June 6, 2022 at 12:16 pm

      Hiya! This is because the strawberries slightly sink down whilst baking! Hope this helps! x



  5. Izzy on August 21, 2021 at 8:02 pm

    Hi Jane,

    I’m planning on making this tomorrow. If I were to use plain flour, how much baking powder would you add please? I live abroad and the self raising flour is not always consistent or reliable. Many thanks!

  6. Dawn on June 11, 2021 at 1:31 pm

    Hi Jane, this looks amazing. I was just wondering if you had tried drizzling homemade strawberry coulis over the cream and strawberry topping? When I make Eton Mess I whizz up some strawberries, sieve and add icing sugar for a delicious sauce. What do you think? Thank you

    • Jane's Patisserie on June 14, 2021 at 11:11 am

      Hey, yeah this sounds great!x



  7. Marian Hughes on June 5, 2021 at 9:53 am

    Yes I was wondering the same about thing as Hannah Brown! – is there was a step missing in the method i.e. at what stage are the strawberries added? Can’t wait to try this πŸ™‚

    • Jane's Patisserie on June 10, 2021 at 10:56 am

      Hiya, this is written in step 4 in the method x



  8. Hannah Brown on May 29, 2021 at 4:52 pm

    Hi, when you add the strawberries to the sponge, do you mean in the bowl, then top with the sugar? Do you then mix before it goes in the baketray? Or should the sponge mix go in the baketray and then topped with strawberries and sugar? Thank you!

    • Jane's Patisserie on June 4, 2021 at 10:25 am

      Hey, sprinkle strawberries on then sprinkle with sugar xx



  9. Barbara Dismore on September 4, 2020 at 9:10 am

    This looks delicious. Im thinking of doing a double layer vanilla sponge 9x 13 traybake. Would I simply double the quantities? Thank you

  10. Nicola on August 6, 2020 at 9:48 pm

    I’m so excited to bake this at the weekend! If i made the sponge plain, would it be the same but without strawberries? Thank you!x

    • Jane's Patisserie on August 7, 2020 at 9:46 am

      Yes! It may take slightly less time to bake, but it’s very very similar! x



  11. Chloe on May 19, 2020 at 4:22 pm

    Have you ever tried to make these as cupcakes? If so what amounts of everything were used? I loved this when I made it but wonder how cupcakes would turn out? πŸ™ŒπŸΌ

    • Jane's Patisserie on May 19, 2020 at 6:50 pm

      I have a similar recipe with my Wimbledon strawberry cupcakes – but otherwise this exact one I haven’t no! I imagine this could make 18-24! x



  12. Susan Baker on May 15, 2020 at 1:31 pm

    5 stars
    Absolutely delicious. The sponge is great, the sugar on top makes it taste a bit like a syrup pudding and Eton mess is my fave anyway. Was a hit with family will make again as so easy.

  13. Jayne Dursley on March 1, 2020 at 4:56 pm

    Hi, can I freeze the whole thing plz,
    Thanks Jayne

    • Jane's Patisserie on March 1, 2020 at 9:09 pm

      I wouldn’t recommend freezing with the topping – just the sponge is fine.



    • Lisa on January 11, 2023 at 6:53 pm

      I love the look of this cake, but I don’t like cream, have you got any alternative suggestions? Would a thinnish layer of buttercream work? Thanks!



    • Jane's Patisserie on January 16, 2023 at 1:13 pm

      Yes absolutely! Whatever you fancy – enjoy! x



  14. Steve on August 3, 2019 at 9:44 am

    I made this for a family Birthday Party recently and it went down very well. I will be be making again

  15. Doreen owen on July 12, 2019 at 3:48 pm

    5 stars
    Hi
    Could i make this in a foil tray as i dont have this size tin
    Thank you x

    • Jane's Patisserie on July 12, 2019 at 3:54 pm

      I personally would never recommend baking into a foil tray compared to a genuine baking tin – and the size is important because it’ll affect baking time. However, if you are confident in baking into the foil tin then crack on!



    • Yasmin on July 3, 2020 at 7:24 am

      I don’t have a 9 x 13 tin so will have to use the previous recipe with the 10″ round tin, just to check where you’ve written “200g Flour/Butter/Sugar and 4 medium eggs with 2tbsp Double Cream and 200g Strawberries baked into a 10″ tin”, do you mean 2tbsp sugar to sprinkle over the strawberries, and not double cream? I assume you don’t mean to mix double cream in the cake as you don’t for the traybake version! And will it need less amount of the decoration? Thank you!



    • Jane's Patisserie on July 3, 2020 at 11:54 am

      No for the original version of the recipe I did use the double cream in the cake mix and decoration was the same x



  16. Heather T on June 20, 2018 at 8:09 am

    Hi, could you freeze the cake before adding the topping? Thanks.

  17. Marie Turnbull Davison on May 1, 2018 at 9:44 pm

    Can you make this is a larger tray bake tin?

    • Jane's Patisserie on May 4, 2018 at 11:43 am

      You can indeed but its already a 10×10″ which is quite large. Any larger and it will be thin. x



  18. Bakingmadmum on April 12, 2018 at 7:42 pm

    I made this along with 5 other cakes for an afternoon tea……it went down a storm! One of my favourites and I have made many of your bakes and cheesecakes. Thank you!

    • Jane's Patisserie on April 12, 2018 at 7:43 pm

      Aww yay!! I’m so glad!! Thank you! x



  19. Lynz Real Cooking on July 29, 2015 at 6:48 pm

    Hi Jane tried this yesterday and it was lovely!

  20. […] Eton Mess Traybake!. […]

  21. Rae on July 28, 2015 at 5:24 pm

    Argh! Eton Mess, I’ve been day dreaming about this all day today how weird! This will definitely be added on my list of things to try soon! Beautiful photography as always!

    • Jane's Patisserie on July 28, 2015 at 5:34 pm

      Hahah dreaming about Eton mess if a very good thing – and thank you! Please do try it! πŸ™‚



  22. Jane's Patisserie on July 28, 2015 at 1:39 pm

    Thank you! And thank you again! ☺️

  23. Cam on July 27, 2015 at 3:53 pm

    Can you leave a conversion table for a kitchen in Arizona? Your desserts sound wonderful.

    • Jane's Patisserie on July 27, 2015 at 4:10 pm

      I’m not sure what you mean? I have a helpful tips page which should help with converting?



  24. The Culinary Jumble on July 27, 2015 at 12:37 pm

    I’ve got a BBQ for friends coming up soon – this would be perfect!

    • Jane's Patisserie on July 27, 2015 at 2:50 pm

      Oooh yay! I hope you make it! πŸ™‚



  25. chlophiescakes on July 27, 2015 at 12:32 pm

    This looks amazing! Definitely going to have a go at this recipe this week. With homemade meringues too of course! Thank you for sharing! X

    • Jane's Patisserie on July 27, 2015 at 2:48 pm

      Awwh yay thank you! And of course haha πŸ˜› its okay! πŸ™‚ x



  26. thesnowwoman on July 27, 2015 at 12:23 pm

    Looks delicious. I have never had Eton Mess. Not really a thing in Canada, but I may try this.

    • Jane's Patisserie on July 27, 2015 at 2:47 pm

      Thank you! And please do, definitely try normal eton mess too though! πŸ™‚



  27. Tanushree Ghosh on July 27, 2015 at 12:08 pm

    wonderful as always!

  28. Lauren at Knead to Dough on July 27, 2015 at 12:08 pm

    This looks so delicious! I made an Eton mess bundt cake last week and pureed the strawberries in my recipe to stop them from sinking. Love that you can put them in whole in yours!

    • Jane's Patisserie on July 27, 2015 at 2:45 pm

      Thank you! I puree them when making strawberry cupcakes, but as this is quite shallow I thought id try and get away with it πŸ˜›



  29. James Scott on July 27, 2015 at 10:23 am

    God that looks so good

  30. Bec J. H. on July 27, 2015 at 10:12 am

    Sounds great! My mum loves Eton Mess, so I might have to make this for her πŸ™‚

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