This meringue roulade makes an impressive dinner party dessert, with a decadent dark chocolate cream filling for sweet-toothed guests. There are a few steps involved, but this recipe is a lot easier than the final result would suggest. Once you've mastered your meringue, it's simply a case of filling, decorating, and chilling.
If your meringue cracks on rolling, don't worry! A roulade is supposed to look rustic – plus, a drizzle of dark chocolate will disguise any splitting.
Preheat the oven to 190°C (170° fan) mark 5. Lightly grease and line a 23 x 33cm (9 x 13in) shallow baking tin with baking parchment to stand 2.5cm (1in) proud of the tray. Toast the hazelnuts on a baking sheet in the oven or in a frying pan. Cool then grind in a food processor until very fi nely chopped, but do not over-process or they will turn oily.
Step 2
With a hand-held electric whisk, beat egg whites until they form soft peaks, then whisk in the caster sugar a little at a time. Fold in the ground hazelnuts and spread the mixture evenly in the tin. Bake in centre of oven for 20min until lightly golden. Cool completely in the tin.
Step 3
Turn out on to a piece of greaseproof paper slightly larger than the roulade, lightly dusted with icing sugar. Gently ease away the lining paper.
Step 4
Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over simmering water. Remove from the heat and leave to cool. Whip the cream until it just holds its shape, and divide between two bowls. Reserve 4tbsp of the melted chocolate for decoration, and fold the rest into one bowl of whipped cream until evenly mixed and mousselike. Smooth this evenly over the roulade, leaving a 1cm (½in) border. Spread the rest of the whipped cream over the chocolate mixture, and then roll up the meringue to form a long log shape – a few cracks are normal, so don’t worry!
Step 5
Use a spoon to drizzle the reserved chocolate all over the top in a zigzag pattern. Lift on to a long serving dish and chill in the fridge. Remove from the fridge about 15min before serving.
Per Serving:
Calories: 685
Fibre: 2 g
Total carbs: 45 g
Sugars: 45 g
Total fat: 53 g
Saturated fat: 29 g
Protein: 6 g
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The GH Kitchen Team are Good Housekeeping’s resident recipe developers and all-round food obsessives. GH Kitchen Director Sarah Akhurst is our resident hosting pro and loves nothing more than putting on a foodie feast for friends. Our GH Kitchen Manager Linzi Pucino is our very own Italian food expert (originally hailing from the North East of Scotland!) and can be found working her way through midweek recipes that cover all bases, from haggis to ragu! Our Kitchen Editor Nadine Brown loves digging into the stories behind her favourite foods and enjoys applying her eclectic tastes to more modern, flavour-forward recipes - just don't give her too much chilli! Our Junior Food Content Produce Frankie Prichard combines a love of beautiful presentation and flavour-led, seasonal cooking in her recipe development, along with a passion for bringing people together through food. With a wealth of professional kitchen experience between them, they’re dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work every single time
