Eton Mess: my Autumn version

I'm reading Jane Austen's "Sense and sensibilty" at the moment, which I'm enjoying a lot. Beside the lovely scenary, the historical insight, it goes to prove, that not matter which century we are in, girls will always be girls. Passionate like Marianne, reasonnable like Elinor or a optimistic like Mrs Dashwood, she portrays the characters beautifully and I'm looking forward to read some more.

This book, somehow, got me in a british mood. 15 years of american TV shows and movies, brought me to find the british accent more "exotic" than the american one. For instance, Nigella's accent and vocabulary (beside other things) are such a delight to listen to, I also have a soft spot for the scottish accent, go figure ;)

Though I'm a big tennis fan, I never made it to Wimbledon, yet. The tournament, the history, the traditions, it seems like something that needs to done at least once. Apparently drinking Pimm's and eating strawberries and cream is also part of the whole decorum. I'm not sure about the alcoholic drink, but I'm all for the strawberries.

Which brings me to the Eton Mess, a tradtional dessert served during the annual cricket game at Eton's college. Does it get any more british than this? I don't think so! Well strawberries are not in season anymore, and my stomach (and hips) do not always agree well with whipped cream, so this is just my own take on it. Cheers!

Apple and Pear Eton Mess

Serves 2

1 Apple (Braeburn)
1 Pear (Conference)
1 greek yogurt
20gr of Butter
1 Teaspoon of Cinnamon
1 Teaspoon of 4 Spicies
1 Tablespoon of Dried Raisins
1 Tablespoon of Muscovado Sugar
1 Tablespoon of Walnuts
4 or 5 Small Meringues
Golden Syrup

I had some meringue batter left from my Lemon Pie, so on a oven tray lined with a baking sheet, using a piping bag, press the meringue out to the shape of a nest, about 2 to 3 cm diameter. In an preheated oven at 150°C, place the tray, and let the meringue cook for about 45 minutes, they should "dry out" more than cook, check the bottom to see if they are done. Let them cool on a rack.
You can obviously skip this step if you prefer, and buy meringue in the shop.

Core the apple and pear, cut them into quarters and chop them roughly, I left the skin on, but you can remove it if you prefer.
In a pan, on a low heat, give in the butter and let it melt a little before adding the apple, pear and dried raisins. Sprinkle the sugar over the fruits to caramelize them a little. Add the spicies and let it cook for a few minutes, until the fruits have a nice brown color, are cooked, but still have a bit of crunch. Let it cool on the side.

Put the meringues in a plastic bag, like a freezing bag, and let your anger out on it! Using a rolling pin, a spoon or your fist, crush the meringue. But don't make only powder out of it, you want to have some bigger bits left.
Whipp the greek yogurt in a bowl and add the meringue to it, you can keep a little meringue to put on top in the end.

In the service dish, put the yogurt and meringue first, add the fruits on top, you can sprinkle some walnuts and crush meringue on top,  before adding a bit of golden syrup to serve.