Brown sugar meringue roulade with burnt honey apples
This roulade with burnt honey apples from Noor Murad and Yotam Ottolenghi's Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Extra Good Things is the perfect autumnal dessert. Lighter than full on winter fair but cosier than an Eton mess, it's just what the season requires.
Extracted from Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Extra Good Things by Noor Murad and Yotam Ottolenghi (Ebury Press, £25) All photography by Elena Heatherwick
Noor and Yotam say: "If the flavours of autumn could be rolled into one, this meringue roulade would be the result: warming cinnamon, burnt honey, sweet apples and tangy orange come together to make a dessert fit for the festive season. Make sure all your individual components have completely cooled before assembling – you don’t want to create any excess moisture in the roulade. Get ahead by preparing the apples and cream the day before, keeping them refrigerated until needed."
Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
Apples
- 150g of runny honey
- 1 vanilla pod, halved lengthways, seeds scraped out and reserved with the pod
- 5 fresh bay leaves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp flaky sea salt
- 3 1/2 tbsp of orange juice
- 1.1kg Braeburn apple, about 7-8, peeled, cored and each cut into 6 wedges (or 8 if they’re larger)
- 1 tbsp of olive oil
Roulade
- 250g of egg white, from 6 large eggs, or from an egg white carton
- 100g of soft light brown sugar
- 250g of caster sugar
- 1 tbsp of vanilla bean paste, or vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp white wine vinegar
- 2 tsp cornflour
Cream
- 150ml of whipping cream, fridge cold
- 20g of icing sugar
- 250g of mascarpone, fridge cold
- 1 tbsp of orange zest, finely grated, plus 1tsp extra to garnish
Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C fan/gas mark 7
Start making the filling. Put the honey, vanilla seeds and pod, bay leaves, cinnamon stick, ground cinnamon and salt into a large ovenproof sauté pan on a medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5–6 minutes, stirring often, until the honey is deeply brown (don’t be afraid to take it to the edge; you want it to be very dark). Off the heat, whisk in the orange juice
- 150g of runny honey
- 1 vanilla pod, halved lengthways, seeds scraped out and reserved with the pod
- 5 fresh bay leaves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp flaky sea salt
- 3 1/2 tbsp of orange juice
Gently pour 65g of the burnt honey into a heatproof bowl. Pick out the bay leaves and vanilla pod and add them to the bowl
Stir the apples and olive oil into the sauté pan with the remaining burnt honey, then transfer to the oven for 20 minutes, stirring halfway through, until the apples have softened and caramelised but still retain their shape. Set aside to cool completely. Pick out the cinnamon stick and add it to the reserved burnt honey bowl. Keep the oven on
- 1.1kg Braeburn apple, about 7-8, peeled, cored and each cut into 6 wedges (or 8 if they’re larger)
- 1 tbsp of olive oil
Make the roulade. Line a large 40cm x 30cm baking tray with baking parchment
Put the egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment in place and beat on medium-high speed for 1 minute, until soft peaks form. Combine both sugars in a bowl and gradually add this to the mixer, a tablespoon at a time, whisking continuously on high speed for 5 minutes, until the mixture is a thick glossy meringue
- 250g of egg white, from 6 large eggs, or from an egg white carton
- 100g of soft light brown sugar
- 250g of caster sugar
Reduce the speed to low and add the vanilla paste, cinnamon, vinegar and cornflour. Turn the speed to medium and whisk for a minute, to fully combine
- 1 tbsp of vanilla bean paste, or vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp white wine vinegar
- 2 tsp cornflour
Spoon the meringue on to the prepared tray and use a spatula to spread it out evenly so it’s about 35cm x 25cm. Transfer to the oven and immediately turn the heat down to 180°C fan/gas mark 6. Bake for 30–32 minutes, until the meringue is crusty on top and lightly brown. Set aside to deflate and cool completely
Meanwhile, prepare the cream by putting the whipping cream, icing sugar and mascarpone into the cleaned bowl of the stand mixer with the whisk attachment in place. Beat on medium speed for 1–2 minutes, until soft peaks form. Stir in the orange zest
- 150ml of whipping cream, fridge cold
- 20g of icing sugar
- 250g of mascarpone, fridge cold
- 1 tbsp of orange zest, finely grated
Place a clean tea towel on top of the cooled meringue and quickly invert the whole thing on to a work surface. Lift the tin off and peel away the lining. Spread three-quarters of the cream evenly all over the meringue. Top evenly with the burnt honey apples (reserving any liquid released from the apples for another use)
Starting with the longest side closest to you and using the tea towel to assist you, roll the meringue up and over, so that the edges come together to form a log. Gently pull away the tea towel as you roll, then slide the meringue on to a long tray or platter, seam side down
Use a serrated knife to trim off 2cm from the sides to create neat edges (nibble on these if you like!). Refrigerate to firm up, at least 30 minutes (and up to 3 hours if you’re getting ahead)
To serve, spoon the remaining cream down the length of the roulade. Top artfully with the bay leaves, vanilla pod halves and cinnamon stick. Drizzle with the reserved burnt honey syrup and sprinkle with the extra zest
- 1 tsp orange zest
Get in touch
Please sign in or register to send a comment to Great British Chefs.
You may also like
SITES
