Lemon Meringue Roulade

A delicious treat, ideal for a special occasion or works perfectly as a part of Afternoon tea. You can replace the lemon filling with either passion fruit or pineapple.

Makes 1 medium sized cake

Ingredients:

For the sponge:

90g caster sugar

2 eggs

30g plain flour

15g cornflour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp lemon juice

1 lemon zested

For the curd:

3 unwaxed lemons, zest and juice.

100g caster sugar

50g butter, cut into cubes.

1 medium egg and 1 egg yolk.

For the mini meringues:

3 egg whites

110g caster sugar

Method:

Before you start the sponge, make the meringues because they take longer to cook. To start, preheat the oven to 110 degrees Celsius. Whip the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Keep the whisk running and gradually pour in the caster sugar (one tablespoon at a time). Line a large tray and using a starred nozzle, pipe small meringues onto a tray (roughly 30). Cook in a preheated oven for 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 185 degrees Celsius. Line a rectangular tin with sides of 10 inches and 7.5 inches.Sift the flour, cornflour, and baking powder. Roughly combine and then stir in the lemon zest.

Separate the egg whites and egg yolks and whip the egg whites until stiff peaks are formed. Next, whisk the sugar into the egg whites. Whisk the egg yolks in a separate bowl until they become stiffer and lighter in colour (they should have the appearance of custard). Then, add the egg yolks to the whites and whisk to combine.

Fold the wet ingredients into the dry and pour in the lemon juice. Immediately empty into the tin and spread to make the layer even. Cook in a preheated oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Once the cake has cooked, take it out of the tin and put a layer of baking paper on top of it. Roll the cake up into a roulade shape immediately and set aside to cool completely (this will ensure that once you come to put the filling inside, the roulade won't lose its shape or crack).

For the curd, put the juice, zest, sugar and butter in a heatproof bowl above a pan of boiling water. Once the butter has melted, begin to mix the egg and yolk in a separate bowl. Next, add the egg mixture to the heatproof bowl and cook for 10-12 minutes over a medium heat until the mixture is thick, glossy and it coats the back of a spoon. Leave to cool.

To assemble, unroll the cake and spread a thick layer of curd over it. Then, crush up 10 meringues into small chunks and crumble them over the curd. Gently roll up the roulade and put the remaining meringues on top for decoration, then serve!

#lemon #roulade #meringue