Belinda Jeffery

This rather dreamy dessert is far easier to make than it may appear. It’s wonderfully voluptuous to eat as the fluffy meringue and cream melt in your mouth whilst the berries add a welcome sharpness and body. Rose petals look gorgeous as a garnish, but they do need to be free of any chemical sprays. If you’d like to make it a little more exotic, a dash of rosewater in the cream or raspberry mixture adds a delicate fragrance. Although, I’ve made this particular roulade with raspberries, I often fill it with sliced mango and drizzle passionfruit pulp over each slice.

Serves 8

Preheat your oven to 180C. Lightly butter a 34cm x 24cm x 2cm Swiss roll tin or baking tray. Line the tin with lightly buttered baking paper, taking it up a few centimetres higher than the edges of the tin all the way around.

Put 125g of the raspberries into a food processor fitted with the steel blade and sprinkle 2 teaspoons of caster sugar over the top. Whiz until they form a smooth purée. Taste it – you want it to be a bit sharp – add a little more sugar, if needed, and whiz again. Scrape the puree into a fine sieve sitting over a bowl. Use the back of a spoon to work the puree through the sieve. Remember to scrape the underside of the sieve as the purée collects there. Discard the seeds. Transfer the puree to a small, tightly sealed container and pop it in the fridge. (This can be done a day or two ahead.)

To make the pavlova, put the egg whites, caster sugar and salt into an electric mixer and beat them on medium-high for about 8 minutes, or until they’re stiff and shiny. Scoop the resulting meringue into the prepared tin and spread it out evenly with a palette knife. Bake the meringue for 10-12 minutes, or until it’s set and a pale-beige colour on top. Meanwhile, lay a large sheet of baking paper on your bench top and sprinkle it evenly with the extra teaspoon of caster sugar.

When the meringue is ready, remove it from the oven. Now take your courage in both hands, and quickly but carefully invert the meringue onto the sugared baking paper. Carefully lift off the tin and very gently loosen the lining paper around the edges but leave it in place on the meringue. Now grasp both ends of one of the longest sides of the bottom layer of paper and gently roll the meringue onto itself, enclosing the lining paper. What you end up with is a long paper-covered cylinder. Carefully transfer it to a wire rack, seam-side down, and leave it to cool.

A couple of hours, before you’re ready to serve it, gently unroll the meringue onto a large board and ease away the top layer of lining paper. There will probably be some splits in it but don’t be daunted, the cream will glue it back together. Use paper towels to mop up any sugary syrup that has formed on or around the meringue.

Put 220g of the remaining raspberries into a bowl. Pour the reserved raspberry puree over them, and very gently fold them together. Be careful as you do this, as raspberries are fragile and can break up.

Put the cream, icing sugar, and vanilla into a chilled bowl and whip with an electric beater on medium speed, until thick but not grainy. Spread the cream evenly over the meringue, then spoon the raspberry mixture evenly over the cream.

Once again using the paper to help you, roll the meringue onto itself to form a log, like a Swiss roll. Slide the roll onto a serving platter that will fit in the fridge. The easiest way I’ve found to do this is to shuffle the pavlova to the edge of the board and then roll it onto the platter, making sure its seam side is down. If some of the paper ends up under the roulade, carefully wiggle it out. Don’t worry if it loses its shape a bit, it’s incredibly forgiving and you can use your hands to gently re-form it. Cover it loosely with a sheet of baking paper and return it to the fridge.

When you’re ready to serve the roulade, scatter the remaining raspberries over the top, then sprinkle with rose petals.

(Although, I say to roll and fill the meringue ahead of time, it’s fine to do it at the last minute.)