Strawberry Lemonade Meringue Roulade

For the 500th day of January

I love you, warm spices. I love you, toasted nuts and caramel and roasty-toasty flavors. I love you, hot coffee and hearty soups. But we’ve finally reached the end of The Longest Month; and even though my driveway is still buried beneath a blanket of snow, I’m craving something light, bright, fruity, colorful. This strawberry lemonade meringue roulade ticks all those boxes.

I made my first meringue roulade last year, and instantly regretted not trying one sooner. Meringue roulades are the cool cousins of classic domed pavlovas — faster and less finicky to make, but equally delicious. And while they don’t bake up quite as crisp as their taller counterparts, meringue roulades are simpler to serve and eat; and each bite contains the perfect ratio of chewy mallow and creamy filling. Today’s version, with a strawberry flavored meringue and zingy lemon cream, is a firm family favorite — even my husband, who normally doesn’t like meringue desserts, gave it two enthusiastic thumbs up.

Baker’s notes:

• You can use pre-ground freeze dried strawberry powder, or grind whole pieces of freeze-dried strawberries to make your own (this is what I do). If making your own, sift the powder after grinding to remove any seeds.

• To keep the roulade pink, I add a drop of red of food coloring. This is completely optional, but the meringue color will not be as vibrant without it.

• There are many ways to make lemon curd, but my preference in terms of taste and texture is a whole egg version (I think the citrus flavor is more pronounced as it isn’t competing with lots of flavorful yolks). That’s the recipe I’ve provided below. However, if you are separating a bunch of eggs for the meringue and don’t have another plan for the yolks, you can sub them by weight for the whole eggs. Or…you could make something custardy!

• I use a jelly roll (10x15) pan for this recipe. If you don’t have one, you can make this in a larger half sheet pan — either spread the meringue to a similar size on that pan, or multiply all ingredients by 1.3.

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Strawberry Lemonade Meringue Roulade

Serves 8-10