Celebrate the festive season with this Zesty Lime & Strawberry Meringue Roulade with Pistachio Mascarpone Cream. It is a great dessert for these warmer evenings, and uses fresh, seasonal strawberries for that festive look.

Prep Time: 1.5 hours / Cooking Time:  40 minutes  / Serves:  8-10

 
 

Ingredients

Vanilla Bean Meringue:

  • 5 Otaika Valley egg whites,
    at room temperature

  • 285g caster sugar

  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste

  • 1 tsp white vinegar

  • 1 ½ tsp cornflour

Lime Marinated Strawberries:

  • 2 punnets (500g) fresh strawberries, stalk removed & cut in half

  • Zest of 1 medium lime

  • 2 Tbsp icing sugar

  • 1 Tbsp elderflower liqueur or cordial (optional)

Pistachio Mascarpone Filling + Garnishes:

  • 400ml cream

  • 250g mascarpone cheese

  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste

  • 1 Tbsp icing sugar

  • ⅓ cup strawberry jam

  • Juice of ½ lime

  • ½ cup (70g) roasted pistachios, crushed into a fine powder (see tip)

  • Dried rose petals + fresh edible rose petals, for garnish

 

Directions

  1. Preheat your oven to 175°C bake. Line a 35cm x 30cm baking tray (or sponge roll tin) with baking paper, leaving some extra paper to hang roughly 3cm over the sides.

  2. Make meringue: Add egg whites to the clean, dry bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk egg whites on medium speed for about 1 minute, until they form foamy soft peaks. With the beater running on medium speed, add the caster sugar 1 heaped tablespoon at a time, whisking until combined after each addition. Once all the sugar has been added, continue to beat on medium-high speed for about five minutes, until very thick and glossy. Add the vanilla, vinegar and cornflour and whisk on low speed, until just combined. Transfer meringue to the lined tin. Using a large spatula or pallet knife, spread the meringue out into an even layer. Place into the pre-heated oven. Bake for about 25 minutes, until golden brown and crusty on top. Turn meringue upside down onto a sheet of baking paper, then lift away the tin and carefully peel off the baking paper from the bottom. Set aside to cool.

  3. Prep strawberries & filling: Remove the stalk from the strawberries, cut them in half and add to a large bowl. Add lime zest, icing sugar and elderflower liqueur/cordial and toss together. Set aside to marinate. Add cream to a large bowl. Using hand-held electric beaters, beat cream on medium speed for about 1-2 minutes, until medium soft peaks. Add the mascarpone, vanilla and icing sugar and beat again for about 1 minute, until stiff peaks (be careful not to over beat it, otherwise the cream will split). Fold through the crushed pistachios (see tip). Set aside in the fridge until ready to use.

  4. Assemble: Combine jam and lime juice together in a small bowl. Spread the jam mixture in an even layer over the meringue. Spread roughly two thirds of the pistachio cream over the jam in an even layer, then scatter over half of the marinated strawberries. With the short side closest to you, using the tea towel as a guide, roll the meringue up tightly into a log. Pull away the tea towel as you roll, then gently slide the roulade, seam side down, onto a platter. Spread remaining pistachio cream on top of the roulade. Spoon over the remaining marinated strawberries, then garnish with the rose petals and some extra crushed pistachios. 

 

Tip* to make crushed pistachios, simply add them to a mini food processor or nutribullet and blitz into a fine powder.

Recipe by Amelia Ferrier, @melies_kitchen