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Lemon Meringue Roulade

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Lemon Meringue Roulade or cake roll consists of a supremely moist sponge cake filled with homemade lemon curd and covered with swirls of torched meringue.
  • Author: Delphine Fortin
  • Prep Time: 2 hours
  • Cook Time: 10 mins
  • Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
  • Yield: 8 servings 1x
  • Category: Cakes and pies
  • Cuisine: French recipes
  • Diet: Vegetarian

Lemon Meringue Roulade or cake roll consists of a supremely moist sponge cake filled with homemade lemon curd and covered with swirls of torched meringue.

Ingredients

Scale

For the lemon curd*:

  • ¾ cup (180 ml) lemon juice, freshly squeezed
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • 1/3 cup (70g) caster sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 cup (180g) white chocolate, chopped

For the sponge cake:

  • 4 eggs, whites and yolks apart
  • ½ cup (100g) sugar
  • ¾ cup (90g) all-purpose flour, sifted
  • 3 Tablespoons cornstarch

For the syrup:

  • 1 Tablespoon (15g) caster sugar
  • 1 lemon, juice

For the Italian meringue:

  • 1/2 cup (100ml) water
  • 1/2 cup (100g) caster sugar
  • 2 egg whites

Instructions

For the lemon curd (the day before):

  1. In a small saucepan, stir together lemon juice, zests, sugar and eggs, and warm on low-medium heat until the mixture thickens, stirring regularly.
  2. Melt white chocolate in a water bath or in the microwave until smooth.
  3. Pour the lemon mixture over the melted white chocolate in 3 additions, stirring with a rubber spatula as you go, until smooth and fully incorporated.
  4. Pour into a bowl, cover with cling film, and store in the refrigerator overnight.

For the sponge cake:

  1. Preheat the oven to 340°F (170°C) and line a 12.25×8.125-inch (31×20.5 cm) baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. With an electric mixer or a stand mixer, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. While the mixer is still on, slowly pour in the sugar and egg yolks. Fold in the sifted flour and cornstarch.
  3. Pour the batter into the prepared baking sheet and smooth out the surface. Bake for about 8-10 minutes. The sponge cake must be supple and moist.
  4. Remove from the oven, cover with a damp towel and invert the sponge cake so it sits on the towel.
  5. Brush the surface with lemon-sugar syrup to moister the cake, then spread the lemon curd over the sponge cake.
  6. Roll the cake on the shorter side, and wrap it tightly in a towel. Store in the refrigerator for about 1 hour or longer while you prepare the meringue.

For the Italian meringue:

  1. Add water and sugar in a small saucepan, and heat the syrup to 240°F (115°C) without stirring.**
  2. When the syrup reaches 230°F (110°C), start beating the whites in a stand mixer. When they are foamy but not yet firm, very gradually stream the hot sugar syrup into your egg whites as they continue to whip on low to medium speed. Once you’ve added all of the syrup, increase the mixer speed to medium-high. Continue mixing until the meringue reaches stiff peaks.

For assembling:

  1. Remove the towel around the sponge cake, and transfer to a serving tray, while leaving the joint on the bottom part. Cut the extremities about ½-inch (1,5 cm) from the edges.
  2. Cover with the Italian meringue, and use a tablespoon to make some swirls, or a piping bag to make even prettier swirls on the roulade.***
  3. Gently brown with a hand held torch to create golden swirls.****

Notes

* Alternatively, you can use this homemade lemon curd recipe. Both versions work just fine, the difference is only that the one suggested in the recipe involve white chocolate while the other one doesn’t.

** To make Italian meringue without thermometer: heat the syrup and watch out carefully until it forms large white bubbles. Then, plunge a drop of syrup into a glass filled with cold water. If a soft ball forms, the syrup is ready. If not, heat a little longer and do the test again.

*** You can store Italian meringue in the refrigerator for up to 30 minutes before using.

**** If you don’t have a cooking torch, which remains the best way to obtain a sumptuous golden shapes, place the roulade covered with meringue in the oven on grill position until extremities start to golden. This process can be ready within seconds, so make sure you stay near-by or you risk to destroy the entire cake.

Important note: This recipe was originally shared in December 2016 and upgraded with new photos and a few recipe instructions improvements by 2020.

© 2024 Del's cooking twist
https://www.delscookingtwist.com/lemon-meringue-roulade/