Turkish Delight Roulade. Your New Dessert Weapon

 My love for Turkish delight knows no limits. Remember in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe when Edmund couldn’t say no to a Turkish delight treat from the white witch? I really felt for the guy – he was me incarnate. There is something about the rose taste, the pink colour and the gelatinous silky texture of it in your mouth that is truly delightful and impossible to say no to. I’ve combined it here with a few other loves – meringue, fresh raspberries and pistachios in a roulade. Roulade is a dessert weapon. It looks super fancy but really is very simple to make. You can make the meringue part in advance then smear the fillings and roll just before serving.

Pistachio, Turkish Delight and Rose Roulade

Serves 6

Ingredients

6 eggwhites

1 ¼ cups caster sugar

1 tbsp cornflour

1 tsp lemon juice

2 tsp rose water

2 tbsp icing sugar, sifted

2 tbsp pistachios, crushed

1 cup double cream

1 cup Turkish delight, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 cup fresh raspberries

½ cup cup pistachio kernels

Method

To make the roulade, preheat the oven to 170ºC.

Line a Swiss-roll pan with baking paper. Grease the paper.

Beat the egg whites in a large bowl with an electric mixer fitted with a whisk at high speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add in half the caster sugar then beat in the remaining caster sugar until stiff, glossy peaks form. Fold in the cornflour, lemon juice and rosewater. Spread the meringue evenly in the prepared pan. Bake for 20 minutes, or until pale golden, then allow to cool for about 1 hour.

Place another sheet of baking paper on a work surface and dust with icing sugar and crushed pistachios. Turn the meringue onto the baking paper. Carefully remove the top sheet of paper.

For the filling, beat the cream until soft peaks form. Spread the beaten cream over the meringue with a palette knife. Sprinkle the raspberries, Turkish delight and pistachio kernels over the cream. Use the paper to help you roll up the meringue from the short end. Ease the roulade, seam side down, onto a serving dish and refrigerate for 1 hour. To serve, cut slices and place lying down on a serving plate.