My lemon tree is bearing fruit this summer. Consistently. At last. Perhaps because in spite of my decidedly non green thumb I’ve remembered to water it. Almost every  day. The perfect excuse to make lemon curd. My way. One lemon at a time. In small batches. One pot and ten lazy minutes  effortlessly transforms a little sugar, butter, egg and lemon into a smooth and silky curd. No double boilers. No tempering of eggs. No curdling or catching of the mixture on the bottom of the pan.

To celebrate Australia Day this long weekend, I’m folding gloriously tangy lemon curd through whipped creme fraiche and using it to fill a pavlova roulade. Topped with peak season peaches and raspberries, it’s sure to be a delicious hybrid of our classic national dessert. Sadly, in the stifling heat of mid summer it’s way too hot to turn the oven on for hours on end to produce a traditional and quintessentially Australian pavlova. Fortunately a roulade takes no more than twenty minutes to bake in a moderate oven, and so becomes an easy, no brainer substitution for me. One post, two short cuts with plenty of time to sit back and enjoy the long weekend.

Pavlova Roulade With Lemon Curd, Peaches, Raspberries And Coconut
Serves 8

Pavlova Roulade
6 large egg whites
generous pinch salt
1 1/2 heaped teaspoons cream of tartar
1 1/4 cups caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1 1/2 heaped teaspoons cornflour
1/2 cup icing sugar, for rolling
1/2 cup dessicated coconut, lightly toasted, for rolling

Lemon Curd Filling
50g butter, cubed
1/2 cup (100g) caster sugar
1 egg, whisked
2 tsp finely grated lemon rind
1/4 cup (60ml) lemon juice
250 grams creme fraiche

Fruit
2 large ripe peaches, thinly sliced
1 punnet raspberries, washed and dried
3 basil leaves, finely shredded

PREHEAT oven to 150 C fan-forced. Line a large 35cm x 30cm oven tray with non stick baking paper.
TO MAKE LEMON CURD, whisk together sugar, egg, lemon rind and juice in a small saucepan. Add butter cubes and place the pan over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon for 5 minutes or until mixture boils and thickens. Remove from heat. Strain through a fine sieve into a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill for 1 hour.
TO MAKE PAVLOVA ROULADE, place egg whites and a generous pinch of salt into a large mixing bowl, whisk to soft peaks.
ADD cream of tartar and gradually beat in the caster sugar, one tablespoon at a time, until the mixture is thick and glossy.
FOLD through vanilla and cornflour until just combined.
SPREAD meringue mixture in an even layer over baking paper lined tray. Smooth top and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 5 minutes, until soft but firm to the touch.
MEANWHILE place a medium glass or metal mixing bowl and beaters or whisk into the refrigerator to chill. These will be used to whip the creme fraiche.
DUST a clean tea towel with icing sugar, then sprinkle over lightly toasted coconut. Invert the pavlova, top side down, onto the tea towel and carefully peel away the baking paper. Allow to cool for a further 15 minutes.
SLICE peaches into thin wedges.
PLACE creme fraiche into chilled mixing bowl. Whip with chilled whisk or beaters until soft peaks form, about 3 – 5 minutes. The creme fraiche should be light and double in volume. Gently fold through the chilled lemon curd.
SPREAD lemon curd / creme fraiche mixture over the pavlova base . Roll up tightly, Swiss roll style, using the tea towel as a guide.
TRANSFER pavlova roulade to a platter. Scatter over thinly sliced peaches and raspberries. Garnish with finely shredded basil. Serve.