Hazelnut Meringue Roulade with Honey Sour Cream & Raspberry Coulis
Meringues, like their distant cousin the marshmallow, are something you either love or you happily pass by on your way to more substantial desserts. There are various forms of meringues, but the most popular is probably the french meringue, which is simply vigorously whipped egg whites and sugar that is slowly baked in low heat. (Sometimes Cream of Tartar is also used.)
This airy dessert has a very long history, which like most enduring classic recipes is somewhat in dispute. Some claim meringue was invented by an Italian chef working in Switzerland. Others insist that it is of french origin. Either way, they date back to the early 17th century – which unfortunately for cooks back then, was well before the whisk was invented. Making meringue by hand is tough work. Even tougher without a whisk. Historic recipes call for the egg whites to be energetically beaten with a collection of birch saplings or reeds. The resulting froth was called "snow eggs," and was eaten raw garnished with fruit and herbs. It's unknown who first discovered that one could slowly bake the egg froth into a cookie of sorts. But we do know that it likely didn't first happen on a rainy day…creating a perfect meringue is hindered by the slightest amount of moisture, whether in the ingredients or in the air.
The term "meringue" refers more to the material used (beaten egg whites & sugar,) than the final form. Most Americans are familiar with meringue as a pie or Baked Alaska topping, while Europeans generally enjoy meringue baked into small airy cookies that are crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle. (Pardon our french, but the extremely light airy cookies are colloquially known as "pets" in parts of France, which translated is slang for, umm, little flatulences.)
We both do enjoy the occasional meringue dessert, both in cookie or pie form – especially when not baked to a sandy dryness. But truthfully, we find meringues on their own to be a little too sweet for us. They are however, a nice change from flour-based desserts, and they're a great way to use up egg whites left over from making mayonnaise or custards. Plus a meringue dessert just plain sounds fancy. So we developed this recipe for a meringue roulade (or roll-up) that uses a slightly sweetened sour cream filling with tart raspberry coulis. We love the way the filling cuts through and adds complexity to the sugary meringue.
Hazelnut Meringue Roulade with Honey Sour Cream & Raspberry Coulis
For Meringue:
4 room temperature egg whites
1 cup sugar
2 cups toasted hazelnuts, chopped.
For Sour Cream filling:
1 cup sour cream (or creme fraiche)
2 T honey
For Raspberry Coulis:
2 pints raspberries (frozen is fine)
1 cup sugar
juice of 1/2 lemon
First make raspberry coulis, which can be done up to several days before and kept in refrigerator. Heat berries, lemon juice and sugar in saucepan over low heat until a sauce has formed. Sieve sauce through a fine wire mesh with the back of a rubber spatula to remove seeds and create a smooth berry coulis. Allow to cool and thicken.
Preheat oven to 400F. Line a jelly roll pan, or baking sheet with lip, with parchment paper. Cut paper 2 inches larger than all edges of pan…meringue expands when baking. Butter the parchment well.
To toast hazelnuts, place them whole on a second baking sheet, in one layer. Toast in 400F oven until skins crack and surface is tan, about 7 minutes. Check every 3 minutes…do not allow to burn. Once toasted, place nuts in clean dishtowel, pull towel into a bundle, and rub nuts against each other until most of the skins are removed. Chop coarsely in food processor or other chopper. Spread 1 3/4 cups of the chopped nuts evenly over greased parchment sheet. (Reserve the remaining 1/4 cup for later.)
Using whisk attachment to your stand mixer (or an actual whisk if you have triceps of steel) beat the egg whites on medium speed until they just begin begin to turn opaque. Then add sugar, and increase speed to high. Beat until soft peaks form. (What's a soft peak? It's when you lift the whisk and a small peak forms in its wake. The tip of a soft peak will curl back down. The tip of a stiff peak will remain upright) For this roulade, we just want a soft peak, because the result will remain more pliable once out of oven.
Use rubber spatula or icing spreader to spread meringue mixture over nuts. Be gentle. Try not to disturb nuts. They will form the outside coating of the roulade.
Place meringue/nut sheet in 400F oven. Set timer for 8 minutes. Once 8 minutes has passed, reduce heat to 275F. Reset timer for another 10 minutes. Check often. You want the meringue to brown, but not burn. If top seems to be turning black, turn oven off completely, and let dry as temperature lowers naturally. The meringue should be crisp on the outside, but still soft in the middle. It should feel spongy to the touch of your palm. Do not allow to dry out completely, as one would for a meringue cookie…this meringue will need to be pliable in order to roll up.
While meringue is cooking, beat sour cream and honey together until soft and fluffy.
Once meringue is removed from oven, allow to cool. Transfer parchment sheet and meringue to counter on top of clean, large dishtowel. Spread sour cream honey mixture on top of meringue, leaving 1/2 from three sides, and 3 clear inches from one of the short sides. Drizzle 1/2 of the raspberry coulis on top of sour cream mixture. Do not spread.
Using towel, slowly begin rolling meringue from the short side that doesn't have the clear edge. (The clear edge is left for the end. Some of the filling will slide toward that end during the rolling process and fill the gap.) The nuts should keep the meringue from sticking too much. Work slow and and meringue sticks, release with butter knife. Transfer meringue roll to serving platter, seam side down. Some of the meringue surface may crack. That's okay. Used the reserved nuts to cover exposed portions. Refrigerate for at least an hour, and serve cold in 1 inch slices, with leftover raspberry coulis on side of plate.
