Alpine Strawberry Eton Mess

From the garden

• 1½ cups alpine strawberries (fraises des bois), hulled, a third of them lightly crushed with a fork · 1 cup is enough, 2 cups is luxury; white and yellow varieties work too

From the pantry

• 3 egg whites · from large eggs, at room temperature
• ¾ cup sugar · 3/4 cup for the meringue, plus 1 tablespoon for the berries and 1 for the cream
• 1¼ cups heavy cream, cold
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• ½ lemon · a squeeze for the berries
• 1 pinch salt

1. Heat the oven to 225°F and line a sheet pan with parchment. In a spotlessly clean bowl, whisk the egg whites with the pinch of salt to soft peaks, then add 3/4 cup of the sugar a tablespoon at a time, whisking until the meringue is thick, glossy, and holds a stiff peak with no grittiness when you rub a little between your fingers.
2. Spoon the meringue into 6–8 rough mounds on the pan (they do not need to be pretty; you are going to smash them). Bake 60–75 minutes until dry, crisp, and easily lifted from the paper, then turn off the oven and leave them inside with the door ajar to cool completely. They can be made up to 3 days ahead and kept in an airtight tin.
3. About 30 minutes before serving, toss the alpine strawberries with 1 tablespoon of sugar and a squeeze of lemon. Crush about a third of them lightly with a fork so they bleed a little syrup, and leave the rest whole; their aroma is the whole point and it does not survive cooking.
4. Whip the cold cream with the vanilla and the remaining tablespoon of sugar to soft, floppy peaks. Stiff cream makes a heavy mess; you want it to drape.
5. Just before serving, break the meringues into bite-sized chunks. Fold two-thirds of the meringue and two-thirds of the berries with their juices into the cream in three or four loose strokes, so you can still see streaks of white cream, pink juice, and crisp meringue.
6. Pile into glasses or bowls, scatter the remaining meringue shards and whole berries on top, and eat within 10 minutes, while the meringue is still crunchy.