I’m not sure about you, but I feel like I have developed an emotional attachment to Bake Off, after all it did bring us a weekly pocket of joy last year. I remember first introducing my then boyfriend (now husband… eeekk!!) to Bake Off. At the time, I lived in Wales and he lived in England, the boarders were closed as well as everything else. TV in lockdown was a strange thing for me; pre covid tv meant watching the world interact as if a deadly virus wasn’t lurking all around us, no masks, no social distancing -strange. Alternatively, watching the few things filmed with government restrictions, felt too close to home. But lovely, wholesome Bake Off was safe and cosy for my little brain and became something my housemate, my boyfriend, and I counted down the long ol’ days to. I remember balancing my phone against the books on my coffee table so Diego could watch it simultaneously though a WhatsApp video call. It seems so odd to be writing this out now, to remember the lengths we went to in order to feel close, especially when the world we live in feels so different now. One thing I can be certain of though, is that I feel more grateful than ever to switch on channel 4 on a Tuesday night with my cuppa in one hand and my husband’s hand in another (when Diego read this part, he said we sound like we live in an old peoples home, AS IF everyone else is getting wild on a Tuesday!!).
So come on then, who’s excited? Thoughts on a vegan baker? Any ideas on who will win or is it too soon to tell? Who else bakes ahead with the weeks theme in mind? Only me?!
To kick off this glorious season (both on screen and in nature, hello autumn, welcome to my newsletter) I would like to share what I gobbled down during this weeks episode:
L E M O N & R AS P B E R R Y M E R I N G U E R O U L A D E
I N G R E D I E N T S
5 large egg whites
1 Cup of caster sugar
400ml double cream
2 Cups of Raspberries (I’ve tried using frozen and when defrosted they drip and stain everything, use fresh, just trust me on this one)
1 Jar of Lemon Curd
M E T H O D
1) Preheat the oven to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas 6. In a large, clean bowl, whisk the egg whites with an electric whisk on full speed until very stiff. Gradually add the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, whisking well between each addition, still with the beaters on full speed. Continue whisking until all the sugar is incorporated and the mixture is extremely stiff and glossy.
2) Line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper. Spread the meringue mixture evenly over the base of the tin. Bake for 12 minutes or until golden. Lower the temperature to 160°C, fan 140°C, gas 3 and bake for a further 25 minutes until firm to the touch. Remove the meringue from the oven and turn it out, onto a sheet of non-stick baking paper. Remove the baking paper that lined the tin and leave the meringue to cool for about 10 minutes.
3) Whip the cream, then spread it evenly over the meringue, then spread a thin layer of lemon curd. You may not need the whole jar, depending on how lemony you like, I’ll leave that up to your palette. Evenly sprinkle the raspberries. Then we roll, I find this part easiest when I use the sheet of baking paper underneath to roll it into itself, take your time until you end up with a beautiful looking swirl.
I would say, enjoy it with next weeks bake off episode, but next week is biscuit week and I’m not a savage.
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Beautiful 💗 I love putting toasted flakes almonds on mine as soon as it’s out the oven!