michelle picker cooks

Christmas is upon us and here in Australia pavlova is one of our most popular celebration cakes. Traditionally pavlova consists of a round meringue base, usually quite high and ideally with a crisp crust and chewy centre, which is slathered with cream and covered with fresh fruit. And as it’s summer here and fruit is at it’s finest, what better way to show it off? In this version, from Sweet by Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh (who just happens to be an Australian) the meringue and filling are rolled instead. I made mine with mangoes, passionfruit and blackberries.

To make the meringue first preheat your oven to 220ºC (430ºF) and line a shallow baking tray with baking paper. My tray was a little flat so I stapled the corners of the paper to make the sides a little higher. Put 6 large room-temperature egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer and, using the whisk, beat them on medium to high speed until you have soft peaks forming. Continue to beat while slowly adding 375g (13 oz) of caster sugar, one spoonful at a time, until the mixture is thick and glossy. This should take at least 5 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and add 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract and 2 teaspoons of white wine vinegar. Now increase the speed for a final minute of combining. Transfer the meringue mix to the prepared baking sheet and spread it out evenly with a spatula. Place in the oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 200ºC (390ºF). Bake for 35 minutes or until the meringue is crusty and has coloured a bit. Remove it from the oven and allow it to cool completely. At this stage you can even keep the meringue for assembly the next day by covering it with a clean tea towel and setting it aside at room temperature. To make the filling, beat 400ml (13½ fl oz) of double cream until you have soft peaks just forming. Add 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract and 30g (1 oz) of pure icing sugar and continue to beat a little until the cream is just firm enough. Be careful not to beat too long or your cream will turn into butter.

When you’re ready to assemble the roulade, place a clean tea towel over the meringue and invert it onto a work surface. Peel off the baking paper and spread about ⅔ of the cream evenly over the meringue and then cover it generously with the fruit. I put mangoes and passionfruit into the roulade but saved my blackberries for the top. You can also add toasted almond slices at this stage but I opted to put them only on the top. With the help of the tea towel, roll the meringue into a log shape and then carefully pull away the tea towel. Slide the roulade onto a serving platter with the seam facing down. Top with the remaining cream, fruit and toasted almonds and serve.