Chocolate meringue roll with cherries. Today's recipe!

To achieve the perfect meringue, use only fresh eggs at room temperature. It’s also crucial to carefully separate the egg whites from the yolks, as even a tiny drop of yolk can ruin the meringue's texture and make it less stable.

For the cream, it's best to use crème fraîche with 35% fat content instead of the usual pastry cream (33%) or sour cream (20%). This will result in a thicker consistency, as noted by Shuba.

Ingredients:

for the filling:

• crème fraîche 35% – 250 g;
• dark chocolate – 100 g;
• cherries – 150 g;

for the meringue:

• egg whites – 5 pcs;
• cocoa powder – 4 tsp;
• sugar – 280 g;
• potato starch – 1 tsp;
• lemon juice – 1 tsp;

Preparation method:

Making the meringue. First, separate the egg whites from the yolks. In a clean, dry bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gradually add the sugar, one teaspoon at a time, continuing to whisk until the mixture becomes thick and glossy. Finally, add the lemon juice, cocoa powder, and potato starch, carefully mixing until smooth.

Preheat the oven to 160°C. Line a 27×33 cm baking tray with parchment paper. Evenly spread the egg white mixture over the parchment using a spatula.

Place the tray in the preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes. Then, reduce the temperature to 110°C and bake for an additional 30 minutes.

Dust the parchment with cocoa powder using a fine sieve. Flip the baked meringue onto the cocoa-dusted sheet and let it cool for 10-15 minutes.

Making the chocolate cream. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or microwave. Add the crème fraîche 35% and gently stir until smooth. The crème fraîche should not curdle and should have a thick creamy consistency. Place the cream in the refrigerator until completely chilled, then whip with a mixer until fluffy.

Spread the chocolate cream over the meringue layer, leaving 1-2 cm on the sides. Evenly distribute the cherries on top – whether thawed, canned, or fresh.

Carefully roll the meringue into a log using the parchment paper, and dust with cocoa powder through a fine sieve. Refrigerate the log for 2 hours to stabilize.