Lemon Curd & Cream Cheese Roulade
FOR THE CURD 1
Lemon – finely grated zest
80g Freshly squeezed lemon juice,
pulp and pips sieved out
60g Unsalted butter 80g Fine caster sugar 2
Eggs – well beaten
FOR THE CREAM CHEESE FILLING 100g Cream cheese at room temperature 100g Unsalted butter at room temperature 40g Icing sugar – sifted
FOR THE SPONGE 3
Eggs, yolks and whites separated
80g Fine caster sugar 0.25 Tsp fine sea salt 80g Plain flour – sifted
A few drops of vanilla paste
START WITH THE CURD. Put the lemon zest, juice, and butter in a heatproof bowl over a pot of boiling water, taking care that the bottom of the bowl is not touching the water. Stir occasionally until the butter is melted. Briskly whisk the eggs into the mixture, scrape down the sides, and leave to thicken, stirring with the whisk occasionally. When it has thickened up, remove the bowl from the pot and set aside to cool. FOR THE CREAM CHEESE FILLING, beat the butter using a handmixer until smooth. Beat in the cream cheese and continue for a minute or two until it’s really light. Sift in the icing sugar and mix until completely combined. Taste and add some extra icing sugar if it’s not quite sweet enough for your taste. Set aside in the fridge until ready to fill your roulade. Grease a 30 x 20cm swiss roll tin and line with baking paper. Preheat the oven to 160C. PUT THE EGG YOLKS AND SUGAR in a bowl and beat together for a couple of minutes. The colour will lighten, and the sugar will begin to dissolve into the yolks. Mix in the flour and vanilla until smooth. It will feel rather stiff at this stage. IN A SEPARATE CLEAN BOWL, whisk the egg whites on high speed until they are stiff and very voluminous. The whites shouldn’t move when you tip the bowl upside down. Spoon about a third of the whites into the egg yolk mixture and beat in on a slow speed to loosen. Add the rest of the mixture in two batches, folding in very gently with a metal spoon, and making sure to not knock too much air out of the mixture. Pour into the swiss roll tin and spread out into an even layer. BAKE IN THE OVEN FOR 10-12 MINUTES, or until the sponge is slightly browned and springy to the touch. Lay a piece of baking paper on your work surface. The paper should be larger than the area of the sponge. Turn the sponge out on top of the baking paper, sponge-side down. Peel off the paper from the bottom of the sponge and, using the baking paper underneath, roll the sponge up while still warm (starting with the short side). Set the rolled sponge aside to cool. ONCE COOL, UNROLL THE SPONGE and spread a layer of the cream cheese filling followed by a layer of the curd over the surface of the sponge. Roll back up and dust with icing sugar to finish. It can be served both at room temperature or straight from the fridge – however you like. The curd and cream cheese recipes make more than enough for one sponge. Spoon extra on the side when serving or spread any leftovers on toasted brioche and sprinkle with toasted flaked almonds for an indulgent breakfast. Feel free to use shop bought lemon curd when you’re tight for time and adjust the vanilla in the sponge to your taste.
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