KEEPING with the summery theme again this month, I wanted to share with you another crowd-pleasing recipe.

This one takes advantage of the British strawberries now at the height of the season, being plentiful and great value for money.

I could not think of anything better to get your taste buds slavering over than the all-time British favourite, Eton Mess.

This is a sumptuous, indulgent sticky mess, and no wonder with such a wonderful confection of ingredients used in the recipe - strawberries, pieces of meringue and cream, which can be whipped up in no time.

Eton Mess was invented at its namesake, and is traditionally served at the college's annual cricket game on June 4 near Windsor in London. It is still being served in the sock (tuck) shop within the college today.

This classic pud came around, according to one story, when an over-excited Labrador dog sat on a picnic basket in the back of the car and squashed a strawberry and meringue Pavlova dessert.

It is thought the ''mess'' was really a beautiful mess, and tasted rather delicious and better than it looks, and the name stuck. Even if the story is not true, it is a sweet story.

The glorious mess as a dish of food soon become the name for a military dining room, suggesting a triumph of substance over style.

This dessert is really easy to make, being a schoolboy, jolly, artless, camp recipe on a par with our humble British trifle. It’s truly, utterly delicious and a great way to use up ripe, plentiful strawberries.

A sound word of advice from me: frozen or tinned strawberries simply do not work in this recipe. It’s all about freshness and most of all the perfume scent of home-grown British strawberries.

All this makes the recipe very special and always a winner.

Other fruits can be used in an Eton Mess like rhubarb, blackberries or raspberries, but be careful not to squash them too much.

To ring the changes even more you could also change the cream. To flavour as an adult-version Eton Mess, add a splash of your favourite tipple such as brandy, rum or port. A non-alcoholic elderberry juice is my favourite choice, being very refreshing.

Shop-bought meringues are traditionally used in this classic dessert for speed, but if you fancy a challenge and are a domestic goddess in the kitchen you could make your own meringues. This is ideal for practice with my very simple recipe.

It doesn't matter if the meringues weep, crack or collapse, at least you've been brave enough to have a go.

This must be a rewarding thing to do, but do make sure you leave them overnight to dry out fully before using them - and finally enjoy your rewards!

Have you missed any of Mike Armstrong’s previous Friend In Knead columns in the Keighley News? Don’t worry, all you have to do is visit our website at keighleynews.co.uk, click on What’s On, then Food & Drink, then Friend In Need.