Blackberry, Apple and Mango Meringue Roulade with Caramelised Apple Crisps

Sweet roulades have been loved and admired since the seventies and who can resist meringue? Not me. This Blackberry, Apple and Mango version is full of beautiful Autumnal flavours and colours, it's really easy to roll (see my Hints and Tips) and, although admittedly sweet, it is surprisingly light. The caramelised apple crisps adorning the top look effective and are very simple to achieve.

Ingredients

You will need a roulade/swiss roll tin 33cm x 23cm (13" x 9"), lined with baking parchment

Oven 160c, 140c fan.

5 egg whites 275g caster sugar

Filling:

300ml double cream

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 tbsps. thick Greek yoghurt

3-4 tbsps. Bramble compote

1 tbsp. apple sauce (from a jar is fine)

1 mango, peeled and flesh roughly chopped

Method

Whisk egg whites in a scrupulously clean bowl until very stiff

Whisk in the caster sugar little by little, no more than a dessert spoonful at a time, until very stiff

Spoon into the lined roulade tin (use a tiny blob of the meringue as glue at each corner of the baking parchment if it's likely to move around)

Bake at 160c (140c fan) for 30-35 minutes. When ready, the top of the meringue should be firm to the touch. Remove from the oven, place the tin on a cooling rack and quickly cover the meringue completely with a new sheet of baking parchment.

Then cover the whole lot with a towel and leave until completely cold.

The filling:

Add the vanilla to the cream and whisk until the cream has soft and billowy peaks. Scoop out a good tablespoon of the cream and save to one side ready for when you decorate the top of the roulade.

Now fold the Greek yoghurt, a tablespoon at a time, into the cream for the filling. The cream will firm up a little.

To fill: Turn the cold roulade over so that its covering towel and baking parchment are underneath it on your worktop (this operation is easier than it sounds)

Remove the tin and the baking parchment attached to the underside of the roulade Turn the roulade on the paper and towel so that a short end of it is facing towards your body and spread the cream and yoghurt mixture all over the roulade (see Hints and Tips) .

Stir the apple sauce into the bramble compote and spread it on top of the cream (see Hints and Tips). Now distribute the mango pieces over the roulade, concentrating on the half of the roulade closest to you.

Using the parchment paper to help and starting at the short end close to you, begin to curl the roulade; be bold, the meringue is tolerant and pliable. Still using the paper, continue to roll, stopping just slightly before you reach the end of the meringue.

Position the dish on which you plan to serve the meringue at the end of it and, using the baking parchment, lift the roulade onto the dish and roll it off the paper. If the roulade has gone a bit out of shape, use the paper to gently but firmly squash it back into position.

To decorate: Take the cream you set aside for decoration, give it a good stir to firm it up and using a teaspoon drop small blobs centrally down the top of the roulade. Use these as "glue"to hold berries and/or apple crisps to decorate.

Helpful Hints

Avoid whisking the egg whites in a plastic bowl. Even a small amount of grease on the bowl will prevent the whites from whisking properly and plastic bowls can so easily be a bit greasy.

Adding yoghurt to the cream not only lightens it but also gives a touch of acid which makes the roulade less sweet.

Adding apple sauce to the blackberry compote reduces its sweetness.

When filling the roulade, the cream should be spread rather more thickly at the end closest to your body (the start of the roll) and it should graduate down the length of the roulade so that it is thinner at the furthest end from you. Similarly, spread the compote and mango generously at the end near to you and do not spread it the full length of the roulade. The reason for this is that some of the filling will be pushed down the roulade as you roll it and space should be allowed to prevent the filling from squashing out at the end of the roll.

You can of course roll the roulade from the long side if you prefer a longer, leaner look.

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