Apricot Roulade

The first post for 2014 is this delicious apricot roulade, which is a lovely change from heavy Christmas food, and looks wonderful!  From the fabulous Claire Macdonald’s book More Seasonal Cooking (highly recommended for delicious puddings), it is made with dried apricots, so is an all year round favourite, but a great standby if, like me, you keep apricots in your store cupboard.  Like all roulades, it is gluten free too...

The only tricky bit for a roulade is transferring from the baking parchment to the plate, which I usually achieve by folding the parchment under itself just below the roulade when you put the roulade on the dish, and then peeling it from beneath.  Ideally you need three hands! 

Apricot Roulade

Apricot Roulade

1lb/500g dried apricots, (the recipes says soaked for a few hours, but I forget this every time and end up sticking them into boiling water to accelerate the process)

2 strips lemon peel

4oz/110g caster sugar

4 large eggs, separated

To serve:

grated rind of 1 lemon

3/4pint/400ml double cream, whipped

icing sugar to dust

swiss roll sized tin (12” x 14”.30 x 35cm approx) lined with parchment

Bring the soaked apricots to the boil in fresh water, adding the lemon peel.  Simmer for 35-40 minutes or until tender.  

Drain the cooked apricots while still hot, and put them into a food processor/large blender.  Blend until smooth, adding the caster sugar.   Remove 3 tbsp of the apricot purée for the filling.   Add the egg yolks, one by one, and blend until pale and thick.   Whisk the whites until stiff.    Fold in 1/3 egg white using a metal spoon - this will break up the texture and make it easier to fold in the rest of the egg whites afterwards.    Pour into lined swiss roll tin and spread it evenly.  Bake 20-25 minutes until pale golden brown and well risen.

Cool, still in the tin, covered with greaseproof paper under a damp cloth.  Turn out onto paper covered with sieved icing sugar, carefully peeling off the parchment.  Spread with whipped cream mixed with the rind and apricot purée and roll up from the long side using the paper to help achieve the classic roll shape.  Dust with more sugar before serving (it melts into the roulade quickly, so leave it until the last minute).