If you like pavlova, you’ll love this recipe for my Caramel Meringue Roulade! It’s basically a pavlova made with brown sugar in a shallow tray, lightly baked until it is crispy on top but still soft and mallowy underneath, then filled with fresh cream and soft caramel and rolled up like a Swiss roll.
Meringue can be a bit tricky to get right but this caramel meringue roulade recipe is very forgiving and it doesn’t matter if it isn’t perfect – it still tastes delicious!
You can use ready made caramel for this but I find it can be quite runny so I prefer to make my own. Place an unopened tin of condensed milk in a slow cooker, completely cover the tin with boiling water and cook on high for 4 hours. I usually do quite a few tins at the same time, they will keep unopened for several months and try to do this at least the day before I need the caramel, it needs to be completely cooled before opening.
It is best to use metal or glass utensils to make your meringue as all the equipment needs to be spotlessly clean and completely free of any traces of grease. I tend to clean everything I’m going to use with an alcohol-based antibacterial cleaner – just spray and wipe over and leave until completely dry.
Prepare your tin before starting – lightly grease a large roasting tin (approx 28cm x 38cm) and line it with non-stick baking paper.
When separating your eggs, have three bowls available – your mixing bowl and two spare. Crack the egg and pour the white into one spare bowl, passing the intact yolk from one half of the shell to another to make sure there is no white left in the shell. Drop the yolk into the other spare bowl. Pour the white into your mixing bowl and repeat the process. It is important that there are no traces of yolk in the egg white so if your yolk bursts you will have to discard the whole egg. This is why you crack each one separately and add the pure white to your mixing bowl each time. You don’t want to have all your egg whites in the bowl you crack them into and damage the last one as this will ruin the whole lot.
You can use the leftover egg yolks to make my Caramel Blondies – and this recipe just happens to need 5 egg yolks!
Eggs should be reasonably fresh and at room temperature for best results.
Once you have your egg whites in your mixing bowl, add the cornflour and cream of tartar and begin to whisk on a medium/high speed until the eggs start to look frothy. Have your sugar weighed out in another bowl and add this gradually to the egg whites, a spoonful at a time, whisking continuously until all the sugar has been incorporated and the meringue is stiff. If you hold the bowl over your head, upside down the meringue should stay in the bowl!
Spread the meringue mixture into the prepared tin and smooth out until it is completely level. Bake for 1 – 1 1/2 hours, the top should be firm to the touch but the mixture underneath should be soft and mallowy. Remove the meringue from the oven, cover with a clean tea towel and allow to cool completely.
Once cooled, turn the meringue out onto a fresh piece of baking paper and carefully peel the baking paper away from the meringue.
When ready to serve, place the caramel in a bowl and stir gently until smooth. Whisk the cream until stiff. Gently spread the caramel completely over the meringue, making sure you go right to the edges.
Do the same with the whipped cream, spread evenly right to the edges.
Starting at the short side of the meringue and using the baking paper underneath to help you, roll the entire meringue up until you get to the end, making sure the seam is underneath.
The roulade can be frozen at this stage, wrap well in baking paper and aluminium foil and place in an airtight container and freeze for up to one month.
To serve, transfer the roulade to a serving plate and dust liberally with icing sugar before cutting into slices.
Caramel Meringue Roulade
Equipment
- 1 large roasting tin approx 28cm x 38cm
- 1 metal mixing bowl
- 1 metal whisk
- 2 small glass mixing bowls
Ingredients
For the meringue:
- 5 large egg whites
- 250 g light soft brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons cornflour
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
To fill:
- 200 g soft caramel
- 250 ml whipping cream
Instructions
To make the meringue:
- Grease the tin and line with non-stick baking paper. Preheat the oven to 150C (fan).
- Separate the eggs, making sure there are no traces of egg yolk in the whites. Place the egg whites in the mixing bowl and add the cornflour and cream of tartar.
- Whisk the egg whites until they are light and frothy then gradually add the sugar, a spoonful at a time and continue to whisk until all the sugar is incorporated and you have a stiff meringue. If using an electric mixer the speed should be medium/high.
- Spread the meringue evenly in the prepared tin and smooth the top. Bake for 1 – 1 1/2 hours, until the meringue is firm on top but still soft and mallowy underneath. Remove from the oven, cover with a clean tea towel and allow to cool completely.
To fill and roll up:
- Flip the meringue out onto a clean piece of baking paper and remove the baking paper from around the sides and top.
- Whip the cream until stiff.
- Stir the caramel gently until smooth then spread evenly over the meringue. Repeat with the cream, spreading right to the edges.
- Using the baking paper underneath to help, roll the meringue up from the short end, rolling right to the other end and finish with the join underneath.
- Transfer the roulade to a serving plate and dust with icing sugar before serving.