Monday, September 15, 2008

Lemon meringue cake

Lemon meringue cake

The fun, adorable and sweet Susan is celebrating her first blogiversary and she’s throwing a party to celebrate it!
I want to be a part of it, so this is what I’m bringing – a light (not as in “low fat”, of course), refreshing and very lemony dessert, that resembles a pavlova. I hope she likes it!

Meringues are “tricky little buggers” - as Jamie would say - so it’s really, really important to keep the oven temperature correct and stable. An oven thermometer is extremely useful here.

If you want to enter Susan’s Blogiversary Bash, too, there’s still time - she’s taking entries till midnight (details here). Did I mention she’s giving away lots of gifts? ;)

Lemon meringue cake

Lemon meringue cake
adapted from here

Meringue shell:
4 egg whites
¾ cup (150g) sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice

Filling:
1 egg
¼ cup (50g) sugar
3 ½ tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ tablespoon grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/3 cup (80ml) water
¾ cups (180ml) whipping cream – it should be very cold
1 ½ tablespoons sugar

Garnish:
½ cup shaved white chocolate – use a vegetable peeler to get the curls

Preheat oven to 250ºF (120ºC).
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Beat egg whites in an electric mixer until frothy. Slowly beat in sugar. Continue to beat until egg whites are thick and glossy and stand straight up when beaters are lifted out. Beat in lemon juice.
Draw a 10-inch (25cm) round on the parchment-lined baking sheet and scoop mixture into round, spreading meringue mixture to the sides to make a shell. The sides will be about 2- inches (5-cm) high. It should look like a pie shell. Bake for 1½ to 2 hours or until lightly browned and dry – if the oven temperature rises too much, open its door and hold it a bit open using a wooden spoon. Close it again once the temperature gets right. Turn oven off and leave for about 4 hours to cool.
Whisk together the egg, sugar, lemon juice and zest together in a heavy pot to make filling. Combine cornstarch and water in another bowl then stir into lemon mixture.
Bring to boil over medium heat, whisking constantly, until thick. Remove from heat. If lumpy, pour through a strainer into a separate bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap into the surface of the lemon filling to prevent a film from forming, and refrigerate until firm and cold.
Remove lemon mixture from the refrigerator and break it with a fork or metal whisk.
Using an electric mixer, beat the cream until soft peaks form. Add sugar and continue beating until firm. Fold in lemon mixture.
Spoon lemon filling into meringue shell, spreading evenly. Scatter with white chocolate shavings.

Serves 8

Lemon meringue cake

32 comments:

Peter M said...

Patricia, lets you & I take this take, sneak away & eat it ourselves? lol

Helene said...

I am a meringue and lemon fanatic and this is exactly the kind of cakes I made for my own bday so you know I'd be hoarding that cake at a party! Gorgeous pics!

Manggy said...

Aaaagh! I almost forgot that was tonight!!! (Okay, so time zones give me loooots of time, but still :) Gimme some cake to calm my nerves! I'm sure Susan will love it!

(Speaking of nerves... I've got to ease up on the exclamation points, 4 realzies.)

Deborah said...

I love lemon meringue pie, so I bet I would love this cake! Beautiful!

LyB said...

This cake looks like a lemony cloud of goodness! So beautiful and perfect for a party. :)

Emily Rose said...

I have always been afraid of meringues (making them, not eating them of course!), but this one looks so airy and delicious that I may have to try it out! Thanks for the recipe!

Dita said...

heiiii, I'm a meringue lover. I almost eat your photo, Pati :D

Lizzie said...

i really like the last picture of the meringue that you posted. i just love how the cake is so centered and heavy looking with the cute little petite polka dots in the background! adorable!

sweetalmond said...

Mmmm!looks delicious and light!

Natasha said...

It looks so delish! I love lemon, but making meringue really intimidates me!

Anonymous said...

P - this looks awesome! I've gotta get my contribution up... thank for the reminder! :)

Anonymous said...

Lovely, perfect for the party too!

Meeta K. Wolff said...

oh lovely - what a great birthday cake to celebrate with! lemony cake rocks!

ChichaJo said...

That cake looks gorgeous!

Susan @ SGCC said...

How beautiful! I adore pavlovas and everything lemon. This was the perfect choice! Thank you so much for sending it over for the party! I love it!

thecoffeesnob said...

How refreshing it is to see a lemon pie with the meringue as the base instead of on the top. I love the little cake stand by the way and those white chocolate curls make the pie look all the more decadent!

Anita said...

Lemon meringue - yum! You put it together so beautifully!

Nic said...

Lovely! I could eat a slice right now, but I guess I'll have to wait until the party!

RecipeGirl said...

I love how this one is put together. I'd say Lemon Meringue *cake* is a great idea!

Anonymous said...

This is beautiful , Patricia! lemon and meringue are the perfect combination!

Anonymous said...

Oh, yum! I love meringue cake as you might know. I haven't yet made lemon and it does sound so tempting.

Anonymous said...

That is so interesting, Patricia! I bet it is so light and airy. Yum!

Anonymous said...

Brilliant gorgeous as always Patricia. I love your cake stand too, it's so pretty and matches perfectly :)

Elle said...

Gorgeous! I only made a meringue once--waaaay back in high school! But it was so delicious--I really need to make one again, don't I?

Patricia Scarpin said...

Pete, my friend, it's so good to see you back here! I hope you enjoyed the trip.
As for your idea, I'm in! :)

Helen, really, darling? That's so wonderful to know! :)
xoxo

Mark, I'm only one hour ahead of Susan, but you, my friend, have more time than I did! :)
Keep on with the exclamation points, they are fun. :)

Deb, I'm sure you would!

LyB, very lemony, indeed!

Emily, thank you for visiting! I tried making them once and only got them right on the third time. Now, I'm fearless! :D

Dita, I wish I could share it with you and the girls!

Lizzie, thank you for stopping by - I'm glad you like it! I'm crazy about polka dots. :)

Sweet Almond, thank you!

Natasha, tks for stopping by! I love lemon, too - can't resist it!

Michelle, darling, thank you!

Cathy, tks, sweetie!

Meeta, I love anything lemon, it would have to be my flavor of choice. :)

Joey, thank you, my friend!

Susan, I'm very glad you liked it, dear!
xoxo

Coffee Snob, the chocolate balances well the sour of the lemon filling.

Anita, thank you!

Nic, I'll let you grab a bite, I promise I won't tell. ;)

RecipeGirl, thank you!

Veron, I agree, they are great together, indeed!

Mae, thank you! The sweet/sour mix did work out well.

Kristen, it was! Thank you!

Lorraine, I love that cake stand, too. ;)
Tks, darling!

Elle, you do! As in right now, my friend. :)

Marysol said...

Absolutely lovely. It's been a year since my last pavlova (almost sounds like a confession), and I think it's time to make another.

Jen Yu said...

Oh, I love this version! It's so much better than the traditional lemon meringue pie type dessert :) Looks beautiful too!

Techno Angel said...

My grandmother use to make a lemon meringue pie just like this and to this day, it is still talked about in our family as a most loved dessert! It just literally melts in your mouth! Amaaaazinggg!

Brilynn said...

This sounds absolutely wonderful! I like this way better than a regular lemon meringue pie.

Peabody said...

Darn it all, I needed this recipe last week when I had a ton of egg whites! Looks good.

Stella said...

I'm simply in love with your tart Pat!

Anonymous said...

When I was a kid a relative made something like your lemon meringue cake. I have always wanted to make it. I think I will try with your recipe. Thanks!

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