Pavlova Roulade with Passionfruit for Australia Day

Australia! Australia! so fair to behold
While the blue sky is arching above;
The stranger should never have need to be told,
That the Wattle-bloom means that her heart is of gold,
And the Waratah red blood of love.

From Waratah and Wattle, Henry Lawson

Today, 26 January, is Australia Day, and Australians have a public holiday to give us a moment to pause and think of what makes us Australian and what we love about living here. 

To celebrate Australia Day, I have made a pavlova roulade with passionfruit, that I will take to share with my friends at Jazz in the Gardens this evening, a free event sponsored by Stonnington Council.  Tonight, the function will be held in Malvern Gardens in High Street, Malvern. 

My roulade is inspired by Julie Goodwin's Pavlova Roulade recipe on page 174 of the December 2012 edition of The Australian Womens Weekly, and by Donna Hay's Pavlova Roll recipe on page 170 of the December/January 2012 edition of Donna Hay magazine.  However, it is not the same as either of them, and I have set out the recipe for my version of the roulade below.

Pavlova Roulade with Passionfruit

Ingredients:

4 egg whites (~100g)
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 teaspoons vanilla
250ml thickened (heavy) cream
2 passionfruit

Preheat your oven to 160 degrees Celsius.  Line a 26cm x 38cm Swiss roll tray with baking paper, leaving some overhang on each side to use as "handles" later.

In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form.  Continue beating while adding the sugar, a little at a time and scraping down the sides as necessary, until the sugar has dissolved.  Add the vinegar, cream of tartar and vanilla, and continue beating until stiff peaks form.

Spread the egg white mixture evenly over the lined Swiss roll pan, then bake in the preheated oven for around 20 minutes or until the top of the pavlova is just firm to the touch.

Remove the pavlova from the oven and allow it to cool on the tray on a wire rack for ~ 5 minutes.

While the pavlova is cooling, lay out a clean cotton or linen teatowel on the bench, and cover it with a piece of baking paper.  Sift icing sugar liberally over the baking paper.  Take the pavlova and turn it out of the pan, face down, onto the baking paper.  Carefully remove the pan liner from the pavlova, ensuring that you avoid tearing as far as possible.  Allow the pavlova to cool to room temperature. 

In the meantime, whip the cream with two tablespoons of icing sugar until firm peaks form.  Spread the cream down the centre third of the pavlova.  Remove the pulp from the passionfruit and place evenly on top of the cream:

Fold each long side of the pavlova up over the cream to encase it, using the baking paper to assist, and flip the pavlova over with the seam side down.

Carefully lift the pavlova onto a serving tray using a long spatula or egg lifter.  Cut a small piece off each end of the pavlova roulade to expose the filling:

Cut into slices and serve with extra cream, icecream and berries, if desired.  Enjoy!

To all of my fellow Australians, I hope that you are having a wonderful Australia Day.