Tamarillo Meringue Roulade : Flavor that Travelled from Jibama Market

 
 

I was happy and thrilled when I tasted this Tamarillo Meringue Roulade, even though I was not that enthusiastic when I read the KBB challenge on my email early June. Let me be honest... I didn't like meringue. As simple as that. My experience with meringue tasting was not that satisfactory. Not much of a flavor except the sweetness. But how wrong I was be! The fact is.. I had never baked my own meringue! and that was why I didn't like all the meringue I ever ate. When we buy meringue desserts, we have no control of whatever being added in. They usually made according to the general preference. Nowadays, I see that people eat more and more sugar, and like everything sweeter and sweeter. So, after received the KBB challenge, I started digging up references, and realized that most of the recipe incorporates sour/tart fruits to balance the sweetness. Good point. But of course, I didn't stop on that. I studied the white-eggs and sugar ratio as well. What I finally did was reducing the sugar from the KBB's recipe by 20 grams from 150 grams to 130 grams. By chance, I have some tamarillos I bought from Jibama traditional market in Wamena, Papua highland. I was on my working trip to that area, Baliem Valley, where the locals plant tamarillo trees and sell the fruits at the local markets all year round. Actually, I can easily get tamarillo from the fruit stores or supermarkets in Jakarta, but the one sold in Wamena has much more flavor because they are picked only when it's already red and ripen, and the tamarillo trees are planted without using any chemicals... so they are organic fruits. In my baking, flavor is the most important factor. With good combination of flavor, the food will stand out.

This time, I received two recipes for the challenge: Classic Berry Pavlova and Passion-fruit Meringue Roulade. Comparing the two recipes, I thing the roulade is not as sweet as the pavlova, so I decided to bake the roulade. But I still reduced the amount of sugar and using tamarillo (which already sit in my fridge for several days). Here in Jakarta, it would be big problem to find the sour passion-fruit on the market. What we have in Jakarta is the sweet passion-fruit.. the new variety that has no tart or sour taste at all.. which I don't really like as much as the sour one.

Now, here is the recipe...

Tamrillo Meringue Roulade

Adapted from ABC Delicious: Sweets - Passionfruit Meringue Roulade

For the meringue:

3 egg whites

130 gram caster sugar

½ tsp white wine vinegar

1 tsp cornstarch

For the filling:

200 ml heavy cream

1 tsp caster sugar

10 tamarillos (cut in half, using small spoon scoop-out the flesh, and slice 2-3 mm thick)

For decorations and assembling:

Put aside 2-4 slices of tamarillo

1 tsp powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat the oven to 190 ^oC. 

Prepare a 34 cm x 24 cm swiss roll baking tray. Thinly coat with butter or cooking oil, and line with parchment paper.

Using a mixer with medium speed, whisk egg whites to soft peak consistency, then add the sugar in several additions. Increase the speed and continue whisking until hard peak consistency.

Sieve the cornstarch on to the beaten egg whites and add the vinegar in. Reduce the speed to low and whisk just to combine.

Pour into the prepared baking tray and smooth the surface using spatula or spoon.

Bake for 10-12 minutes until the surface is light brown. Set aside.

Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Whip the heavy cream and sugar to soft peak.

To assembly:

Carefully flip the cooked meringue on a sheet of parchment paper that has been sprinkled with caster sugar. Peel off the parchment lining that was at the bottom of the baking tray.

Spread the whipped cream on top of the meringue and top with tamarillo slices.

Using the parchment paper, roll the meringue as you roll a swiss-roll. Tuck the end at the bottom. Keep in the fridge for 2 hours to set. 

Before serving, top with tamarillo slices, dust with powdered sugar, slice and serve cool.