Light crunchy meringue with velvety soft vanilla ice cream coupled with the tang of fresh berries and the floral elegance of orange blossom gin - this is how to finish off the perfect dinner party.
Dishes like this show how versatile Australian gin can be. There are so many amazing flavour profiles around these days, you really can do anything.
Stone Pine Distillery's classic dry gin is already superb. Lemon myrtle and pink finger limes give such a beautiful citrus depth to this gin, but the extra botanical of orange blossoms creates a floral warmth that matches with this Eton mess recipe so well.
Owner-distiller Ian Glen hand picks the flowers from orange trees in Narromine, NSW near his distillery in Bathurst. It might not be Ian’s favourite part of the gin-making process, but it’s worth it in the end.
Orange Blossom Eton Mess Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 or 9 raspberries (you can also use strawberries instead)
- 2 meringue nests
- Generous scoops of vanilla ice cream - slightly melted is better
- Tumbler glass
- Thyme leaves and an orange slice to garnish
Method
1. Soak the berries in gin for a few hours or overnight if possible.
2. Place the berries and any unabsorbed gin into the bottom of the glass then break up the meringue and push the chunks down on top of the berries.
3. Scoop the ice cream into the glass and press it into the meringue. Garnish with the thyme and orange and serve when the ice cream melts into the gin and berries a little.
- Swap out the Orange Blossom Gin for Stone Pine’s seasonal Rhubarb Gin, made with fresh rhubarb. It adds an amazing glow to the dish along with sharp, vibrant flavours.
Plant a tree with this carbon neutral gin
Not only is it delicious, but Stone Pine’s Orange Blossom Gin is environmentally conscious. The distillery has joined forces with Carbon Neutral, a carbon offset developer, to raise awareness for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
With every bottle of green label Orange Blossom Gin sold, Stone Pine Distillery donates proceedings to plant trees in Australia.
It’s not often you can say your martini - or your dessert - has a conscience!
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