Ingredients
Serves 8-10
- 4 large free-range eggs, separated
- 75g caster sugar, plus extra to dust
- 75g self-raising flour
- 75g whole blanched almonds or unsalted pistachios, toasted in a hot dry pan and whizzed in a small food processor – or use pre-ground nuts
- 1tsp vanilla extract
- The filling:
- 400g ripe strawberries, half chopped
- 1-2 tbsp icing sugar (optional)
- 300ml double cream
- 4 meringue nests, crumbled
Method
- Heat the oven to 200ºC.
- Using an electric mixer, whisk the egg yolks and caster sugar in a bowl for 5-6 minutes until thick and creamy.
- Gently fold in the flour, toasted nuts and vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites to soft peaks.
- Add a spoonful of the whites to the cake batter and fold in briskly using a large spoon to loosen the mixture; fold in the rest in gentle figure-of-eight movements.
- Pour the mixture into a lined 30-35cm swiss roll tin, level the top, then bake for 12-15 minutes until the sponge is risen, golden and springy to the touch.
- Tke a sheet of baking paper that’s just larger than the tin, and dust with caster sugar.
- When the sponge is baked, use oven gloves to turn it out onto the paper.
- Roll up the sponge from the short end like a swiss roll while still warm, rolling the paper too so it stays between the sponge layers, then leave to cool.
- For the filling, whizz the chopped strawberries until smooth – add a touch of icing sugar if they’re a bit sharp.
- Whip the cream to soft peaks in a bowl using a balloon whisk or electric mixer – be careful not to over-whip as it will thicken when you fold in the strawberries/sauce/meringue.
- Slice most of the remaining strawberries, keeping a few halves to garnish, then gently swirl the slices into the cream with the strawberry sauce and most of the crumbled meringue.
- Carefully unroll the cooled sponge, then spread with the eton mess mixture and roll up like a swiss roll again (without the baking paper in ).
- Top with extra meringue pieces and serve with the leftover strawberries.
