CHEWY CHOCOLATE & ALMOND MERINGUE ROULADE

I’ve been trying to perfect this chocolate roulade for many years and I’ve finally cracked it. It’s soft and chewy, with indulgent rich chocolate, cream and sharp berries. Kenwood very kindly sent me their XL Titanium Chef Stand Mixer to play with and I genuinely love it! It’s such a clever machine and being able to weigh your ingredients as you add them is genius!

Serves 8

INGREDIENTS

Chocolate Roulade
½ teaspoon neutral oil
170 grams room temperature egg whites
210 grams caster sugar
25 grams cocoa powder
25 grams cornflour
50 grams sliced almonds

To Finish
1 ½ tablespoons cocoa powder
125 grams dark chocolate, chopped
300ml cream
½ cup vanilla bean greek yoghurt
1 tablespoon icing sugar
1 ½ cups frozen raspberries, thawed
Fresh berries and icing sugar to decorate

METHOD

Heat the oven to 140ºC regular bake. Line a 39x26cm oven tray with baking paper and lightly grease with oil. Dab any excess oil with a paper towel.

Place the eggs in the bowl of the Kenwood XL Titanium Chef Stand Mixer. Using the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on medium for 4 minutes or until soft peaks form. While the mixer is on, gradually add the sugar, a tablespoon at a time, then continue to beat for a further 5 minutes. Once stiff peaks form, take a small amount of the egg whites and rub between your thumb and finger, if it’s gritty, continue beating until the sugar has dissolved.

Remove the whisk attachment and replace it with the creaming beater attachment

Sift in the cocoa powder and cornflour and on a low speed to gently fold.

Spoon the meringue onto the prepared baking tray and use an offset spatula or back of a spoon to spread the meringue out evenly.

Scatter over the sliced almonds and bake for 50-55 minutes or until the top is no longer sticky to touch, don’t let it get too dry or it will become tricky to roll.

Dust the top with cocoa powder then place a sheet of baking paper and a baking tray on top.

Flip the trays over to invert the roulade.

Remove the top tray then carefully slide out the bottom. Gently peel off the top baking paper and set the roulade aside for 10 minutes.

Place the chocolate and 50ml of cream in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water, stir often. Once the chocolate has melted, remove from the heat. Pour the chocolate over the roulade and smear out evenly.

Add the remaining cream, yoghurt and icing sugar to the bowl of the Kenwood XL Titanium Chef

Stand Mixer and beat with the whisk attachment until soft peaks form. Spoon the cream over the roulade and smear out evenly.

Scatter the raspberries over the cream and give them a little smush with the back of a spoon.

Slowly and carefully roll the roulade into a log. I find it’s easiest to start with your hands for the first bit then hold the corners of the baking paper and slowly lift it to allow the roulade to roll naturally - the roulade is very delicate and using your hands can squash or put holes in the meringue.

Carefully transfer to a serving dish, making sure the seam is underneath the roulade.

Top with fresh berries and a dusting of icing sugar.

You can make this up to 12 hours in advance, just leave the berries and icing sugar off until you’re ready to serve. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.