Strawberry Basil Roll

Preheat the oven to 200 C/400 F. Line a 12×15 inch/39×30 cm baking tray with baking paper.

Separate the eggs and put the whites in one bowl and the yolks in another. Beat the egg whites with the pinch of salt until quite stiff. Gradually add half of the granulated sugar and beat until glossy and stiff. Set aside.

In another bowl whisk together the egg yolks and remaining half of the sugar until foamy.

Mix together the flour and cornstarch and sift it over the egg yolk-sugar mixture. Add 1/3 of the egg whites and incorporate. Add the remaining egg whites and fold in gently.

Spread the mixture onto the prepared baking tray and bake for 8 to 10 minutes until golden brown.

In the meantime place a clean kitchen towel on the table and generously sprinkle it with icing sugar.

Take the cake out of oven and place it directly onto the kitchen towel with the baking paper facing up. Carefully remove the baking paper then immediately roll up the cake (starting from a short side and helping yourself with the towel). Leave the cake roll to get completely cold (it won’t take too long, about 1 hour).

Soak the gelatin leaves according to the packet’s instructions.

Mix the lime juice and a few pinches of the grated zest (you can place the rest of the grated zest on a small piece of paper, let it get dry and then use in other recipes) with the icing sugar in a small pan. Heat the mixture gently, without letting it boil. Remove from heat. Squeeze the gelatin leaves gently, place them in the pan with the juice and stir until it dissolves. Set aside for a couple of minutes.

In a food processor, puree the basil leaves together with the quark and the lime-gelatin mixture. Place everything in a bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

In the meantime chop the strawberries into very small pieces and set aside. Beat the heavy cream until stiff.

When the quark-lime mixture starts to set, gently fold in the whipped heavy cream.

Roll out the cake roll. Spread the quark mixture evenly across the top, leaving a bit of space around the edges. Sprinkle the chopped strawberries all over it and roll the cake carefully again. Place on a serving tray with the seam facing down and refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours until the cream sets completely. It might happen that you will have some extra filling left like I did. Don’t try to force all of it in the roll, it will just come out around the edges. Place the leftovers in a small bowl and enjoy instead of dessert.

For decorating the roll, whip another cup of heavy cream with a little icing sugar and spread it all over the roll. Slice some strawberries and arrange on top of the roll. You can also sprinkle the roll with some almond slices or coconut flakes.

Note: Instead of using another cup of heavy cream to decorate the roll, you can save the calories and just sprinkle the roll with icing sugar and arrange some strawberries on top or around the roll.