Ingredients
- For the creme diplomat:
- 400ml cream (hold back 150ml)
- 4 egg yolks
- Seeds from 1 vanilla pod or 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste
- 70g icing sugar
- For the meringue:
- 6 egg whites
- 300g caster sugar
- 2 tsp cornflour
- 2 tsp clear malt vinegar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- A little icing sugar, for dusting
- 220g fresh strawberries
- Start by making the creme diplomat. Place 250ml of the cream in a saucepan and place on the heat. While it’s heating, slice the vanilla pod in half lengthways and scrape into a bowl (or add the bean paste), along with the egg yolks and sugar and mix. Heat the cream in the saucepan until almost boiling, then pour it into the bowl with the egg mix in it and stir together. Return the mix to the saucepan. Cook over a low-medium heat while stirring constantly until the liquid begins to thicken and coats the back of a spoon. Then pour into a bowl and allow to cool. Chill in the fridge.
- Preheat the oven to 150C and line a 35 x 27cm baking tray with parchment paper.
- Whisk the egg whites using a hand mixer until they form soft peaks. Add one-third of the sugar then continue to whisk before adding the remaining sugar and whisking until you have a thick, glossy meringue.
- Mix the cornflour, vinegar and vanilla extract into a paste, then whisk this through the meringue for another minute. Spread the meringue evenly across the parchment paper on the baking tray, about 2.5cm thick.
- Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, then remove and cover with a dry cloth until cooled.
- To finish the creme diplomat, lightly whip the remaining 150ml of cream and fold it through the chilled custard. Then, whisk it together lightly by hand.
- Dust a separate sheet of parchment paper with some icing sugar and place on a work surface, then carefully turn the meringue sheet on to it. Peel off the parchment that the meringue was baked on, then spread on a layer of the creme diplomat, leaving a small gap all around the edge.
- Next, slice the strawberries and line them on the creme diplomat.
- Using the parchment sheet as support, roll the meringue over on itself to create a cylinder. Remove the parchment before dusting the roulade with some more icing sugar. Slice and serve.
