Chocolate roulade

ingredients

• 5 egg whites
• 140g caster sugar
• 2 tsp cornflour
• 1 tbsp cocoa
• 1 x 600ml tub thickened cream
• 1 vanilla bean, scraped
• 1 tbsp icing sugar, plus extra for dusting
• 1 punnet (250g) strawberries

method

1. Preheat oven to 150°C (130°C fan-forced). Lay a sheet of baking paper in a 28 x 34cm Swiss roll tin or large baking tray.
2. Using electric beaters or a stand mixer, whisk egg whites until soft peaks form. With the beaters still running, gradually pour in caster sugar and whisk until egg whites are stiff and glossy. Sift cornflour and cocoa together and gently fold through egg whites.
3. Tip mixture into prepared tin and use a spatula to spread it out evenly. Bake for 1 hour or until well set.
4. Remove and allow to cool.
5. Whip cream with scraped vanilla seeds and icing sugar until thick and firm, being careful not to over-beat. Reserving a handful to serve, remove stems and leaves from remaining strawberries and cut them into quarters. Stir through whipped cream mixture.
6. Turn baked meringue upside down onto a clean sheet of baking paper. Carefully peel off the sheet it was baked on. Spread cream mixture over meringue. Using paper to hold it firmly, gently roll meringue to form a roulade. Transfer roll onto serving platter. Dust with extra icing sugar and top with reserved strawberries.
7. Serve in slices.

notes

• Feel free to get creative with the filling. Try adding mascarpone to the cream, replacing strawberries with other fresh fruit or even adding a splash of liqueur for an adults-only treat.
• Omit the cocoa for a plain white meringue roulade.
• This recipe was created for Kidspot, Australia’s best recipe finder, by Greer Worsley, who blogs at Typically Red.