In Delia Smith lemon roulade, a light lemon sponge wraps round her own lemon curd and a mascarpone cream. One batch makes 2 roulades for 12 to 16, and the thin sponges bake at 200°C, ready within 10 minutes. Allow about 1¼ hours, plus time to chill the curd and cool the sponges.
This one lives in the Cold Buffet section of How to Cook Book Three, her 2001 book, and her website carries the same version today. Delia calls it light and lemony with a squidgy centre, and her website suggests it as a spring dessert.
The base is an all-in-one sponge, whisked in a minute and rolled while still warm so it keeps its curl. The filling pairs her own lemon curd with a cream of mascarpone and fromage frais. Her chocolate squidgy log is the flourless chocolate cousin.
You can make and decorate both roulades in advance, cover them loosely with foil and store them in the fridge. Take them out half an hour to an hour before serving. The buffet plan in the same book also rolls the cooled sponges in clingfilm and chills the curd and cream separately in lidded boxes.
Delia Smith Lemon Curd Roulade
Course: DessertCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy16
servings45
minutes30
minutes470
kcalTwo rolled lemon sponges filled with homemade lemon curd and mascarpone cream, finished with a thin lemon glaze and curls of zest.
Ingredients
- For the sponge:
grated zest of 2 lemons (keep the juice for the curd)
110g softened butter, plus a little for greasing
225g golden caster sugar
4 large eggs
225g self-raising flour, sifted
2 tablespoons hot water
a little sifted icing sugar, for dusting
- For the lemon curd:
grated zest of 2 lemons
juice of 4 lemons (2 of them from the sponge lemons)
4 large eggs
175g caster sugar
110g softened unsalted butter, in small cubes
1 dessertspoon cornflour
- For the mascarpone cream:
500g mascarpone, chilled
400g fromage frais, chilled
1½ tablespoons caster sugar
- For the icing:
zest and juice of 2 lemons
50g icing sugar, sifted
Directions
- Curd: Lightly whisk the 4 curd eggs in a medium saucepan, then add the zest, lemon juice, sugar, butter and cornflour. Set it over a medium heat and whisk without stopping until it thickens, about 7 to 8 minutes.
- Simmer: Turn the heat right down and let the curd bubble gently for 1 more minute, still whisking. Cool it, press clingfilm onto the surface and chill it well.
- Oven: Heat the oven to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas mark 6. Grease two shallow 23 x 32.5cm tins, 1cm deep, and line them with baking parchment.
- Sponge: Put the sponge zest, butter, sugar, eggs and flour in a large bowl and whisk for about 1 minute, ideally with an electric hand whisk. Add the hot water and whisk briefly again.
- Bake: Share the mixture between the tins, smooth it level and bake on the middle shelf for 8 to 10 minutes, until springy in the centre. Rest the sponges in their tins for 5 minutes.
- Turn out: Dust two 45cm sheets of parchment with icing sugar and turn a sponge onto each. Peel away the lining paper, lay a clean damp tea cloth over them and wait 5 minutes, no more.
- First roll: Fold the parchment over along a short edge and roll each sponge up gently with the paper inside as a lining. Leave them to go cold.
- Fill: Unroll the sponges and spread each with a third of the curd. Whisk the mascarpone, fromage frais and sugar together, spread a third over each sponge, then roll them up again, this time much more loosely.
- Glaze: Strip the zest of the icing lemons with a zester and soak it in about 1 tablespoon of their juice. Mix the icing sugar with 2 tablespoons of juice to a thin glaze and drizzle it back and forth over each roulade.
- Finish: Drain the zest and scatter half over each roulade. Stir the leftover curd into the leftover cream and serve it with the slices.
Notes
- A zester gives long, curly strands of peel, which look prettier on top than finely grated zest.
- Chill the mascarpone and fromage frais well, so the cream holds its shape inside the roll.
FAQs
Can I use shop-bought lemon curd for this roulade?
You can, though Delia finds shop-bought lemon curd never quite matches her own, which needs only about 10 minutes in one pan. In a hurry, a good jar will do, and her quick cheat lemon meringue pie is built on a 312g jar.
By my reckoning, two 312g jars come close to the amount of curd her recipe makes.
Why did my lemon roulade sponge sink?
A lemon roulade sponge usually sinks because the oven door was opened too early, so leave it closed until 8 minutes have passed. Then press the middle very lightly with your little finger, and it should spring back.
The sponges are thin, so they go from underdone to dry quickly. Check them at 8 minutes and again at 10.
How do I roll the lemon roulade without cracking it?
Roll the lemon roulade while the sponge is still warm, after just 5 minutes under the damp cloth on sugared parchment. Lift the paper at a short end, fold it over and roll the sponge up around it, then let it cool in that shape.
A few cracks are fine, and Delia says they can look very attractive. Keep the second roll, after filling, loose and gentle.
Can I make a lemon meringue roulade with this filling?
Yes, you can build a lemon meringue roulade from her hazelnut meringue roulade and fill it with this lemon curd and cream. Whisk 4 egg whites with 225g caster sugar and leave out the nuts. Bake it in a lined 25.5 x 35cm tin at 190°C for 20 minutes.
Once it is cold, fill it as you would one of the sponges, with curd first and then the mascarpone cream. Roll it up from a long edge, letting the paper lift the meringue as you go.
