xmas week 2017 - macadamia and passionfruit roulade

xmas week 2017 - macadamia and passionfruit roulade

• 22 Dec 2017

Every Christmas table requires a show stopper dessert and I think this rolled pavlova fits the bill. The recipe was inspired by this one I found online at Woolworth's of all places. 



Originally I was going to fill the roulade with whipped cream and some homemade passionfruit curd but I simply ran out of time. In the end, I played around a bit with the cooking temperature and time, changed the filling and the topping to come up with this recipe.



I've not made a rolled pavlova before so I was holding my breath. Had I overcooked the meringue? Would it crack as I rolled it? Thankfully no disasters befell and I thought the end result looked pretty impressive. This is a sweet dessert so the macadamia brittle may have been a bit of an overkill but the tartness of the passionfruit worked well in the filling. I think any kind of berry in the filling would also work well.



Here's the recipe for you which serves 6-8 people depending on how hungry you are. For all my recipes I use a 250 ml cup and a 20 ml tablespoon. All eggs are 60 grams; I use unsalted butter and my oven is a conventional gas oven not fan forced, so you may need to reduce your oven temperature by 20°C.



Macadamia and passionfruit roulade
Ingredients
4 egg whites (120g)
150g caster sugar, plus 2 tsp extra
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp cornflour
45g macadamias, finely chopped
¼ tsp ground cinnamon

Filling
the pulp of 4 passionfruit
1½ cups thickened cream

Macadamia brittle
50 g caster sugar
1 tbs water
75g toasted macadamia halves, coarsely chopped then topped with a sprinkle of sea salt

Topping
Macadamia brittle
1 passionfruit

Method
Preheat oven to 190°C/375°F. Grease and line a 26cm x 32cm swiss roll pan with baking paper. Using electric beaters, whisk the egg white until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar, 1 tbs at a time, beating until sugar has dissolved and mixture is thick and glossy. Add vanilla, vinegar and cornflour and stir briefly to combine.

Using a flexible spatula, scrape the meringue mixture into the lined pan and smooth top. Combine the macadamias, cinnamon and extra sugar and sprinkle over meringue. Bake for 20 minutes or until meringue is puffy and lightly coloured and springs back when gently pressed. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Place a clean piece of baking paper over the top of the meringue before inverting onto a clean tea towel covered board. Carefully lift away the pan, then gently peel back baking paper.

Meanwhile, to make the filling, place the passionfruit pulp in a strainer over a small bowl to let the juice drain. Measure out 1 tablespoon of the juice. Whisk  the cream with the passionfruit juice until soft peaks form. Spread the meringue with about ¾ of the cream leaving a 2 cm border at the short end furthest from you. Drizzle the passionfruit pulp over the cream, reserving the remaining passionfruit for decoration. Roll up from the short end closest to you, using the tea towel to assist. Transfer to a platter seam side down and refrigerate for 1 hour to firm, or until ready to serve. You can store the covered roulade overnight in the fridge but decorate just before serving.

While the roulade is in the fridge, you can make the macadamia brittle. For the macadamia brittle combine sugar and water in a small pan. Stir to dissolve the sugar, then bring to a boil. Don't stir again until it's time to add the nuts. Cook until the toffee turns a golden brown, then add the nuts. Stir the hot toffee once or twice just to coat the nuts, then turn out onto baking paper or a silicone mat and flatten out the brittle with a knife or offset spatula. Allow to cool completely before breaking into smaller pieces. You'll only use a small amount for this recipe. Store the remainder in an airtight container, that's if you can resist eating the leftovers.



To serve, pipe or spoon the remaining cream down the centre of the roulade. Top with some of the macadamia nut brittle and the remaining passionfruit pulp. Cut into thick slices to serve. 

I'll be back next week to wish you all the best of the season before taking a break from the blog.

Bye for now,

Jillian