Lemon and Blueberry Roulade

Happy Easter!!!

We are off to my mother in law's place for lunch today and I (of course) offered to bring dessert. I figured we wouldn't need anymore chocolate and instead opted for something a little lighter. While it is more suited to a Springtime Easter, I think it works just fine here. You really can't go wrong with the combination of lemon and blueberry and it just looks so pretty with that swirl of purple.

A roulade or swiss roll is often filled with jam but here I have used a light cheesecake style filling flavoured with lemon and studded with bluberries. Just delightful.

The recipe called for a 23cm x 32cm tin but I have actually never been able to find one. This is despite that size seeming to be the most standard size. Perhaps they are just always sold out. I had to make do with a 20cm x 30cm tin so my sponge is a little thicker than it should be and I added an extra minute to the cooking time.

I hope wherever you are, that you're having a lovely Easter weekend with your families. Don't eat too much chocolate!

Lemon and Blueberry Roulade
Sponge recipe from The Australian Woman's Weekly, filling by me

For the sponge:
3 large eggs, separated
1/2 cup caster sugar
2 tbs hot milk
3/4 cup self-raising flour, triple sifted
1/4 cup caster sugar extra

For the filling:
125g cream cheese, at room temperature
125ml thickened cream
1 tbs sugar
zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup frozen blueberries, thawed

To make the sponge, preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius  /180 degrees fan-forced. Grease and line the base and 2 sides of a 23cm x 32cm swiss roll pan, allowing the paper to extend about 5cm over the sides.

Place the egg whites in a large bowl and beat with an electric beater until soft peaks form. Gradually add in the sugar, continuing to beat until the sugar has dissolved. (You can test this by taking a dab of the meringue and rubbing it between 2 fingers. If there is any graininess continue to beat).

With the beaters running add the egg yolks one at a time, and beat until the mixture is thick and pale, about 10 minutes (mine took far less).

Working quickly, pour the hot milk down the side of bowl, tip in the flour and gently fold them through the egg mixture. Don't over-mix, just make sure there are no pockets of flour left.

Bake the sponge for 8 minutes or until golden brown and just cooked. If the sponge is overcooked it will crack when it is rolled.

Meanwhile, place a clean tea towel on the bench and sprinkle over the extra sugar roughly the same size as the sponge. As soon as a the sponge is cooked, flip in on the the sugared towel and gently peel off the baking paper. Starting on a short edge, turn the tea towel up over the sponge and roll up the sponge and tea towel together. (There is a great post here on Joe Pastry about how to make a swiss roll which includes pictures of this step).

Leave the cake to cool like this for approx 15 minutes, or until ready to fill

To make the filling, beat the cream cheese, sugar and lemon zest until smooth then add the cream a little at a time, continuing to beat until it is all incorporated and the mixture is smooth.

To assemble, unroll the sponge and spread with the cream cheese mixture, leaving a 1-2cm border around the edges. Sprinkle with the blueberries. Carefully re-roll the sponge taking care not to squish the filling too much. Place seam side down on the serving plate. Chill before serving (I made mine a day ahead and kept in the fridge). Serves 8.