Strawberries and Lemon for Summer Desserts

Hi Guys!!!

Welcome back. My mind seems out of sorts, so far, that for the first time, I forgot to make myself my daily morning coffee. Truth is, sleep didn't come easy last night and I tossed and turned and tossed and turned some more. But daybreak soon came, and I regrettably left my bed to go for a morning dance. It gave me some energy I lacked and I now find myself behind a desk writing this post to you. 

The darker the berry, the sweeter the juice
hehehehe

Last week, cake orders were good and I am happy knowing I already have some lined for this week. However, it will be short baking week as I will visit sunny Nicaragua on Thursday. People haven't ordered new cakes from me, but I did make a slight change to the Lemon-Blueberry Cake. It seems the blueberry season has come to an end, as most supermarkets haven't restocked. It so happened I got an order on this cake, but because of this tiny detail, I swapped berries. I used strawberries instead and my customers were content with the result. I, of course, let them know beforehand to prevent a mitigating disaster. The only problem I have with using fresh strawberries and cutting out the stem and core, is that once it comes in contact with the sweet cream cheese frosting, they bleed, so they move around slightly. But, I'm sure I'll come up with a viable solution. 

I wanted to leave it at home

Due to the several egg whites I had left from the different cakes, I decided to make the Lemon Meringue Roulade once again. I made it for the first time back in September last year and it was an utter success. I took to school in between classes and it was gone in less than 15 minutes. Yup...it's that good. It's a light dessert, that doesn't overpower the palate with a sweetness overdose; this aided by the lemon whipped cream and some more lemon curd. Because family members came over yesterday, on the menu for the day were burgers. I was on grill duty and in no time, the burgers were cheesed up and ready to be stuck between to buns. I also happened to make a batch of delicious spicy caramelized onions to accompany the double cheese (mine) patties. My mom made a Chocolate-Flan cake the previous night, and this was the after lunch dessert. Mine was saved for after dinner. 

Roulade in the Making

I had some trouble managing the temperature on our oven, the recipes degrees were in Celsius and the machine's on Fahrenheit. Hence, the slightly brown color. It still tastes the same, but I bother's me. http://messysweetness.blogspot.com/2012_09_01_archive.html If you observe the roulade I made back then, it's a lovely off white color. 

A Lovely Meringue, Cream and Lemon Mess

There's less than half of it left in the fridge and I've barely tried it. So before it disappears completely, I'll make sure to slice it up and dig in a fork. What awaits my short week are brownies, red velvet cupcakes and two lovely chocolate cakes. 

Until next time.

xx

Lemon Meringue Roulade

Original Recipe by Mary Berry

Adapted from All the Threes

Light and fluffy

Ingredients:

Meringue:

5 egg whites

250 g sugar

flaked almonds (optional)

Filling:

300 ml whipping or heavy cream

2 T. lemon curd

lemon curd** as much as you like

Preparation:

Meringue:

Line a baking tray or swiss roll pan with baking parchment.  Preheat the oven to 200C. In a large mixing bowl whisk five egg whites until they’re firm and form stiff peaks, then, a spoon at a time, add the sugar until stiff and glossy.

Spoon the mixture into the tin and level off the top.  Sprinkle flaked almonds on top and place in the oven for 10 minutes.  After 10 minutes, reduce the heat to 160C and leave in the oven for another 15 minutes, after which the meringue should be firm to touch.

Remove the meringue from the oven and turn out almond-side-down onto another sheet of parchment paper. Peel off the parchment from the bottom of the meringue and allow to cool, while you make the filling.

Filling:

Whip the cream until very thick, then stir in the two tablespoons of lemon curd. Mix it well for a good even flavor. If you wish for a stronger lemon flavor, spread a thin coat of extra lemon curd on the meringue. If not, spread the cream mixture as evenly as possible onto the meringue sheet, then gently-but-firmly roll up the meringue like a swiss roll using the parchment paper to help so your fingers don’t dent it too much. The sides may crack a bit, making it homey and much better to eat. I sprinkled mine with confectioner's sugar as a finishing touch.