For the meringue roll, we need a strong yet moist and flexible meringue. Look at the list of ingredients. Can you tell what items are responsible for that? I can bet many will point to the vinegar and starch when the most important is the ratio of sugar to egg whites. For the dry meringue, you would use 2 parts of whites to 3 parts of sugar. In this recipe, it’s the opposite. Sugar is also the main stabilizer for the egg whites foam. The less sugar, the easier it is to overwhip and collapse the meringue. Now, look at the instructions. Can you say what steps keep the meringue moist? First, we use the Swiss meringue method and stop whipping at the stage of medium-stiff peaks. Second, you are right about the combination of time and temperature in the oven. The lower the temperature and the longer time a meringue is in the oven, the drier inside and crispier and less caramelized outside you can make it. Adding a little bit of starch helps but is not critical. Adding vinegar, citrus juice, or any other acidic ingredient (as well as salt) mostly balances the sweetness of the meringue.
A simple mascarpone creme works the best while being the easiest to make. Make cold or hot heavy whipping cream infusions with herbs, teas, or coffee. Add 2-4 tbsp of curds, syrups, or caramel sauces to the basic recipe. Playing with fresh berries and diced fruit to replace raspberries may also give great flavor variations. Make sure to keep your creme thick and dense.
Chopped nuts add to the variety of flavors and textures. My favorite nuts are toasted Oregon hazelnuts from Trader Joe’s, but any toasted nuts will work great. When toasted, they stay crunchy. Nuts also help shape the roll because they prevent the meringue from sticking to the parchment paper/silicone mat.
