Strawberry-Limeade Meringue Roulade

January 29, 2019

Tara Rittler,

This is a recipe I came up with for Little House Big Alaska‘s Great British Baking Show Bake-Along; the prompt came from series 9, episode 4, in which the contestants were asked to make a meringue roulade for their signature challenge. I think this is approximately what I did, although I don’t remember where I got my recipe for lime curd. This should be very close though 🙂 I used Mary Berry’s Lemon Curd and Pistachio Meringue Roulade as inspiration.

I wasn’t going to post this here since I already wrote about the Bake-Along here, but a couple people asked for the recipe, so why not? The world could always use more yummy treats. But I will say, Bake-Along membership has exploded ever since Laura Sampson, who started it, was interviewed for a BBC article about why Americans love Great British Bake Off. Now, instead of 200+ people, there are 1,388+ group members, and they are sharing some really impressive bakes! It’s a little intimidating, but I guess a good lesson to just do your best, have fun learning a new skill, and forget comparing yourself to others. So, without further ado…

Strawbery Limeade Meringue Roulade

Lime Curd

3 large eggs
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. lime juice
1 Tbsp. lime zest
1/4 c. butter, cubed

Whisk eggs, sugar and lime juice in sauce pan. Stir in lime zest and butter.
Heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture is thickened and it just starts to bubble.
Remove from heat and place in bowl with a layer of plastic wrap covering the surface of the curd. Refrigerate.

Meringue

5 egg whites
280 grams sugar (extra fine if possible, but I used regular sugar and it worked fine)

Preheat oven to 392 F. Line a swiss roll pan (or regular baking sheet) with parchment paper.
Beat egg whites until stiff. Slowly add sugar, 1 Tbsp. at a time, until mixture is very stiff and glossy. (Can add food coloring just for fun if you like. I added some green because I wanted to try making a design, but that didn’t work out. The green on the inside of the swirl was nice though)
If using swiss roll pan, spread mixture evenly in the pan. If using a baking sheet, spread the mixture so it fills the width and about 2/3 of the length. Try to get it as even as possible, and bang the pan on the counter to get the air bubbles out. (I forgot this step. It still worked, but there were definitely some wonky bubbles when I took it out of the oven.)
Bake for 8 minutes, then lower the temperature to 320 F and bake another 15 minutes.
Remove from oven. Turn upside down onto a countertop lined with parchment paper. Remove parchment paper from the underside (now topside) of your meringue, and let cool for 10 minutes.

Next Steps

1 1/4 c. whipping cream (I only used 1 cup but wished I’d used more)
Chilled lime curd
1/2-pint (or more) sliced strawberries
Chopped crystallized ginger, to taste

While meringue is cooling, beat the whipped cream until stiff. Fold 6-8 Tbsp. lime curd gently into the whipped cream mixture.
When meringue has cooled, spread whipped cream over the top of the meringue, leaving about 1 inch on the long side closest to you uncovered. Top this with another layer of lime curd, if desired (I didn’t think the lime flavor came through enough just with the whipped cream mixture). Top the layer of lime curd with a layer of sliced strawberries, and then sprinkle the crystallized ginger on top of that.
Lightly score the long end of the meringue closest to you, one inch from the edge. Start rolling the roulade up, using the parchment paper underneath to help get a tight roll. Once rolled, I recommend using a couple of spatulas to help get the finished roll onto a serving platter. Decorate as desired.