Mrs. Digby’s fool-proof meringue roulade

This is my mother’s foolproof recipe for meringue roulade. It’s dated, but trust me, you won’t regret it. I’ve put in mum’s berry filling and also the Ballymaloe lemon curd filling which I used in the picture.

INGREDIENTS

Meringue

4 egg whites
225g (8oz/generous 1 cup) castor sugar
300ml (10fl oz/1 1/4 cups) whipped cream (approx. 150ml of unwhipped cream!)

Lemon Curd

100g (3 1/2oz/scant 1/2 cup) castor sugar
50g (2oz/1/2 stick) butter
grated rind and juice of 2 good lemons
2 eggs and 1 egg yolk (keep whites aside for meringue)

Or…

A whole load of berries (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries… whatever you have), smooshed with a fork until it’s vaguely spreadable

EQUIPMENT

Kenwood mixer
Swiss roll tin 12 x 8 inch (30.5 x 20.5cm)

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 150°C – on the fan setting

1. Put the egg whites and caster sugar into a spotlessly clean bowl of a food mixer.
2. Whisk as fast as possible until you can hold the a peak on the whisk upside down and the tip doesnt fall over… should take 10-15 minutes approx in a Kenwood. Hold your nerve!
3. Meanwhile line a swiss roll tin with tin foil, brush lightly with sunflower oil
4. Spread the meringue gently over the tin with a palette knife, it ought to be quite thick and bouncy. Bake at 150oC on a fan setting in a preheated oven for 15-20 minutes.You want it a bit more crunchy than a marshmallow texture when you press it
5. Put a sheet of tin foil on the work top and… 3, 2, 1 FLIP! the roulade onto it, remove the base tin foil now on top and allow the meringue to cool.
   Meanwhile make the Ballymaloe lemon curd/filling…
6. On a very low heat melt the butter, add castor sugar, lemon juice and rind and then stir in well beaten eggs. Stir carefully over a gentle heat until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon
7. Draw off the heat and pour into a bowl (it will thicken as it cools).
   To Assemble
8. Spread the whipped cream and lemon curd or berries over the meringue (be generous)
9. Roll up length-ways (or width-ways, depending on how big you like each slice) and carefully ease onto a serving plate
10. Pipe cream along the top of the roulade, decorate with crystallized lemon peel, berries, elderflower, mint leaves… whatever you fancy!