Strawberry Meringue Roulade

It’s strawberry season!

We love strawberries! We also love the “farm to table” philosophy, so we spent the Sunday morning supporting our local farmers picking fresh organic strawberries. The sweetest and juiciest berries with a beautiful red color. This ain’t your typical grocery store watery and tasteless strawberries!

There were soooo many of them in the field like stars in the sky. I couldn’t hold myself from putting two of these shiny red heads in my mouth for every one that I’ve put in the basket.

Completely awesome!

We picked until our hands were sore and mouths – stained red. And then, we loaded them up into the car, covered in sticky berry juice, and drove home where we ate some more.

While driving home that afternoon, the smell of warm berries in the backseat brought back fond memories of life from my small hometown in Ukraine, where my first job was picking berries at a local farm. My friend and I worked a few months during the summer, and those summer days with hot Ukrainian sun beating down our backs in the field were some of the hardest we’ve ever worked.

While my life path has taken me far away from home, I never forget where I came from. I am forever grateful to the local farms here in Canada for their hard work and appreciate the simplest of gifts… like fresh-picked berries on a summer day.

Fresh local strawberry season never lasts long enough. During the few weeks when I can get local strawberries, I try to use them in as many ways as I can.

This easy strawberry meringue roulade is a perfect summery dessert. A sponge cake made out of a soft meringue, which just melts in your mouth together with the sweet mascarpone cream and juicy strawberries.

This beautiful dessert lived a full life of about 5 minutes before being devoured by me, my husband and even a few licks for our pups.

Cream Ingredients:

1 cup mascarpone

2 tbsp confectioners sugar + more for dusting

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 tbsp lemon zest

1 cup fresh strawberries, sliced

shredded coconut and mint (optional)

Meringue Ingredients:

4 egg whites, room temperature

1/4 cup caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350 F and place the oven rack in the middle.

To make the meringue, beat the egg whites on high until they firm up. Then gradually start adding the sugar in small amounts. Keep beating until stiff picks form and the meringue looks glossy. Spread the meringue over the silicone mat or parchment paper and bake for 20 minutes. It should feel soft to the touch, but firm enough to hold its shape when rolled. Let the meringue cool down completely.

To make the cream filling, combine mascarpone cheese, confectioners sugar and lemon zest. Mix by hand until everything is incorporated. In a separate bowl whip up the heavy cream and gently fold it into the mascarpone mixture.

Lay a clean piece of parchment paper and turn the meringue upside down. Peel off the silicone mat from the top and spread the cream evenly onto the meringue using spatula.

Place sliced strawberries on top and gently fold the meringue roulade lifting the parchment paper and rolling it onto the serving tray.

Decorate the roulade with leftovers of cream, more strawberries, mint and shredded coconut.