for filling: 4 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 stick unsalted butter
2 lemons — juice of
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 cup well-chilled heavy cream
1 pint small to medium strawberries
for cake: 4 large eggs — separated
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
confectioners’ sugar for dusting for lemon syrup: 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon water
lemon glaze: 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
To make filling: In a heavy saucepan combine the egg yolks, sugar, butter and t he lemon juice. Cook the mixture over medium low heat, stirring until the butte r is melted and custard is thick enough to coat a spoon. Do not let the mixture boil. Transfer the custard to a bowl and stir in the lemon rind. Let the custa rd cool, cover with a buttered circle of waxed paper, and chill. In a chilled b owl whip the cream until it forms soft peaks. Cover and chill. Remove the straw berry hulls and either halve or quarter the berries, depending on their size. C over and chill.
Make cake: Preheat oven 350 degrees. Line the bottom of a greased jelly roll pa n, 15 1/2 by 10 1/2 by 1-inch, with foil. Grease the foil and dust with flour k nocking out excess. In a bowl with an electric mixer beat egg yolks, 1/4 cup gr anulated sugar, zest and vanilla until thick and
pale and mixture forms a ribbon when beaters are lifted. In a large bowl with c lean beaters beat egg whites until they hold soft peaks. Beat in the remaining sugar and gradually beat egg whites until they hold stiff peaks. Stir 1/3 of th e whites into the yolk mixture to lighten it and fold in remaining whites gentl y but thoroughly. Sift flour, salt and cornstarch over batter and fold until ba tter is just combined. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan and bake in middle rack of oven for 6 to 9 minutes or until cake is lightly colored and springs ba ck when pressed lightly. Dust a
kitchen towel generously with confectioners’ sugar and invert cake onto it. Rem ove foil carefully from cake. Starting with the long side, roll up cake loosely but gently in the towel and cool 30 minutes.
Make lemon syrup: In a small saucepan combine 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice and 1 tablespoon water and bring to a simmer, sti rring until all the sugar is dissolved. Keep syrup warm.
Assemble cake: Stir half of the chilled whipped cream into the chilled lemon cu rd until mixture loosens up. Fold in remaining whipped cream. Unroll cake and c arefully brush with half the warm syrup. Spread cake with lemon curd filling. A rrange halved strawberries over the filling. Reroll the cake carefully. Transfe r cake to a platter seam side down, and brush with remaining syrup. Chill roll covered loosely for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Make lemon glaze: In a small bowl whisk together 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar a nd 1 tablespoon lemon juice to make a pourable glaze. Transfer glaze into a sma ll resealable plastic bag. Snip one corner to make a small hole. Trim ends of c ake diagonally and squeeze glaze decoratively over cake.