These rolls are quite a traditional dessert that emerged and became popular in Croatia sometimes during the 1980s. They are simple to make and a great choice for parties and special occasions.
These rolls are called „schaumrolls“ and they originated from Germany and Austria, where they are sometimes filled with pastry cream. There are two parts to this dessert: puff pastry shell and delicious meringue filling. For the pastry you will need special molds that can be bought for this type of dessert, but you can also use whatever you have on hand. It is important that it has a shape of a cylinder. The filling is not baked or dried and traditionally it is a raw egg white filling mixed with sugar until thick and shiny. A lot of Croatian households still have their own chickens and eggs they do not sell, but rather grow for their own use. This is why this dessert is quite often made with raw egg whites, since they know the origin of their eggs and their chicken. Also, a lot of people buy eggs from such small farms and are certain that they are fresh. However, not everyone has this option so I have prepared a foolproof and completely safe recipe to make the meringue with sugar syrup which will cook the egg whites and make the filling glossy and thick.
There are several ways of making the meringue: Italian, French and Swiss. The French version is the simplest one and popular in Croatian recipes. This recipe calls for Swiss meringue, but you can also make the Italian version. What you will do is combine the egg whites with sugar and cook it on top of a water bath until the sugar is dissolved. You will then transfer it to a stand mixer and mix until it is thick, firm and glossy. There are a couple of things to keep in mind while making the meringue. For maximum volume, it is important to keep your egg whites and all of your equipment as free from fat as possible. Try using glass, stainless steel, or copper mixing bowls; avoid plastic bowls since they can be porous and hold grease. In addition to being free from grease, make sure the mixing bowl and whisk are both dry. Room-temperature eggs whip up better than cold ones. After separating the egg whites from the yolks, let them rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes before whipping.
- 500 g puff pastry (I usually use store-bought)
- 200 g egg whites
- pinch of salt
- 400 g sugar
- 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Roll out your puff pastry to about 0,5 cm thick and cut into stripes (2 cm width). You can also buy pre-rolled ouff pastry. Slightly grease the molds and roll them around your baking molds. Bake at 200 C for 20 minutes. When completely cool, take them off the molds.
- Prepare you water bath: heat water in a larger pan. In a separate bowl, slightly whisk the egg whites, just until you see the foam starting to emerge. Put it on top of a boiling water, add sugar and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Transfer the mixture to your stand mixer and mix until thick, firm and glossy. The mixture should be smooth, without any sugar crystals. You can add lemon juice at the end of mixing.
- Transfer your meringue into a piping bag with a star or round shape and pipe it into the puff astry cylinders. Dust with a bit of powdered sugar and serve. They are best prepared and eaten on the same day.
