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1
Preheat the oven to 350F.
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2
Grease 2 baking sheets and line with parchment paper.
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3
Reserve one of the prepared baking sheets for the meringue and lightly grease and flour the parchment paper of the one you will use for the cake.
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4
TO MAKE THE CAKE, in a bowl, beat the egg yolks with the granulated sugar and salt until thick and pale, about 5 minutes.
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5
Add the vanilla.
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6
In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites until they are stiff, but not dry, 4 to 6 minutes.
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7
Carefully fold the egg whites into the egg-yolk mixture.
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8
Sprinkle a little bit of the sifted flour on top, fold in carefully, and repeat, gradually adding the rest of the flour.
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9
Spread the batter evenly on the prepared pan using an offset spatula.
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10
Bake until the cake is golden and springs back when lightly pressed in the center, 15 to 20 minutes.
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11
Remove the cake from the oven and let cool.
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12
Decrease the oven temperature to 275F.
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13
Once the cake has cooled slightly, run a knife around the edges, put a piece of parchment paper on top, flip it over, remove the parchment paper from the bottom, and leave bottom side up to spread the filling.
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14
TO MAKE THE MERINGUE, make sure your bowl is very clean and very dry.
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15
Beat the egg whites with the salt until it is bubbly and beginning to thicken but has not quite reached soft peaks.
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16
Gradually add the granulated sugar while still beating, and continue to beat until stiff but not dry peaks form, 3 to 5 minutes.
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17
Spoon the meringue into a piping bag fitted with a tip attachment or into a plastic bag with the corner cut off.
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18
Pipe strips 4 to 6 inches long onto the reserved baking sheet.
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19
Bake until dry, 15 to 20 minutes.
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20
Let cool.
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21
Crush slightly, if desired.
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22
TO MAKE THE FILLING, beat the heavy cream with an electric mixer or by hand until slightly thickened.
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23
Add the confectioners sugar and vanilla and continue beating until thick and smooth, 5 to 7 minutes total.
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24
You are now ready to assemble the cake.
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25
Make sure that you leave a little bit of filling, strawberries, and plenty of meringue for topping.
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26
Spread some of the filling all over the cake, sprinkle on some of the crushed meringue, and top with a layer of strawberries.
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27
Roll tightly away from you, tuck the seam under the roll, cover with the remaining filling, and decorate with the remaining strawberries.
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28
Freeze for 15 minutes or refrigerate for 30 minutes (dont refrigerate it for longer than 1 hour or the meringue will lose its crunch).
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29
Top with the remaining meringue, decorating as you wish.
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30
Serve immediately (as if you could resist the temptation!
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31
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